


Wreak Havoc

by starspangledmanwithaplan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Heavy Angst, Language, M/M, Multi, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sex, Sexual Content, Smut, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2019-06-08 09:33:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 28,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15240477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starspangledmanwithaplan/pseuds/starspangledmanwithaplan
Summary: Your lineage is a mystery and your powers can be downright scary. You had been on your own since you could remember; saving some lives, taking others, doing what needed to be done in order to survive. And then one day, a man with a metal arm saved your life. From that moment on, you worked with the Avengers, saving lives, not only on Earth, but in other galaxies as well.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

The main idea for this was inspired by this song by  **[Skylar Grey](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DE1mFLiZ0t6c&t=ZTQwNTYwOThiNmMzZWQwMDA2MTIwMjhiZWQzNzcwNDMzYWM2ZDA2YSx6ZlZlUzJBZg%3D%3D&b=t%3A6s2aQceExJr0RbQfliwnpg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fstar-spangled-man-with-a-plan.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F175240519499%2Fwreak-havoc-one&m=1).**

* * *

Growing up alone, with no one like you to talk to, to relate to, to compare stories with, it can really change a person. It can mold them, turn them into something that they, not necessarily hated but, strongly disliked. There was blood on your hands, there was red in your ledger, you needed more cleansing than God himself could give. Which was what paved the path to your attempt at redemption.

You were screaming, rage thrumming through you, enhancing your abilities. There were families behind you, slaughtered, their blood still pouring from the wounds they suffered at the hands of the party your anger was aimed at.

The group of murderers didn’t stand a chance, but that didn’t deter them. They charged, their mouths open in a shout of solidarity and brotherhood, weapons raised. You released the power you had somehow miraculously kept bottled up, simmering under the surface, ready and waiting for someone to kill. The men fell to the ground, their bodies burning from the inside out, flames and embers spilling out of their noses and mouths before their lives were snuffed out.

Revenge, hot or cold, tasted amazing, but it did nothing to soothe the absolute heartbreak of what had just taken place. You had made a promise, a blood oath, to keep the people of the village safe from the men that now lay at your feet, and you had failed.

_You’re a failure, a fraud. No one is going to trust you now._

“Shut up,” you sneered at the inner voice, desperate for it to stop talking.

_They’re dead and it’s all your fault._

With your palm to your temple, you squeezed your eyes closed. “Stop it!”

“Hey doll,” someone said, their deeply masculine voice tight with worry. “You alright?”

“No, no,” you groaned. There were feet pounding the ground behind you, circling you, threatening you. You could feel their confusion and anger and frustration, it was smothering you. “I can’t take anymore.”

The man in front of you cursed under his breath. “Step back, guys. I think she’s an empath.”

You pulled in a shuddering breath as the oppressive weight at your back lightened. Just a little at first, as they struggled with the command they had been given.

“Please,” you begged, your power growing more unstable. It felt like it was ripping you apart from the inside out, tearing through your internal organs, pumping through your veins like lava. “I need you to leave.”

“Uh uh, doll,” whatever-his-name-was argued gently. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

The caring tone of his voice was what made you open your eyes. You could still feel the wave of too many emotions at your back, but it was more tolerable than before. Your hands were clenched at your sides, your power humming around them, no doubt sparking angrily.

“Not even if I could kill you?”

He chuckled low in his throat. “Darlin’, you wouldn’t be the first to try.”

“But I bet I’d be the first to succeed.” It wasn’t you talking, not really. With your emotions at the wheel, your anxiety was spiraling, and fast.

“You don’t want to do that,” he warned, his hand held out, the sun reflecting off of it, catching your attention.

You stared at it with curiosity. “Wait… is that… are you… Bucky Barnes?”

His bright eyes flicked to his hand before landing back on yours. “You know me?”

“I know that arm,” you scoffed. “That means that those guys are the rest of the gang; the Avengers?”

“They are,” Bucky answered, his hand falling down to his side. “They’re also backing off. Ain’t that right, Stevie?”

_If she so much as looks at you funny._

You chuckled, rolling your eyes as you turned around. “Along with being an empath, I can read minds. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt your boyfriend.”

“Funny,” Bucky huffed. “You a comedian, too?”

It was a mistake, turning around to sass the one and only Captain America. Because when you did, your eyes fell on the piles of bodies, burned to a crisp. Mothers, fathers, their children; everyone was dead.

Choking on a sob, you dropped to your hands and knees, your fingers sinking deep into the dirt. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault they’re dead.”

Bucky was in front of you, his hands covering yours, his cerulean eyes drilling into yours. “Hey, you can’t do that to yourself. Their blood is not on your hands.”

“It is,” you cried, the dam inside you breaking, your powers surging out of control. “I swore I’d keep them safe, and I didn’t.”

The man before you let out a light hiss as your skin started to heat up, the emerald green hue of your power shining bright. “It ain’t your fault, doll. You did the best you could getting here in time.”

That got your attention. “Wha- what do you mean?”

“We were on our way,” he started, never taking his eyes off yours, his fingers moving in slow circles on your hand, your wrists, any skin he could reach. “Got a tip that a group of power-hungry mercs were headed this way, but we got the intel too late. Does that mean that their blood is on our hands, too?”

The power pulsing through you started to slow down. “I mean, I guess not. But, you didn’t swear to protect them. I did.”

“And we swore to protect the lives of every innocent life on the planet,” Bucky insisted. His thumbs were now on the pulse of your wrist, sweeping back and forth hypnotically. “The lives of these people, it’s not on any of our hands. If anyone is responsible, it’s those assholes. Not Steve or Tony, not me, and certainly not you.”

With the crushing weight of your anxiety easing back, it was getting easier to breathe. Your eyes fell to your hands, to Bucky’s hands. One metal, the other flesh, both of them cool and comforting. The knots in your muscles started to uncoil, and you knew it had more to do with the energy that was radiating off of Bucky in waves.

“You gotta listen to me, doll,” he pleaded, his hands travelling to your wrists and up your arms, tugging you off of the ground, forcing you to your knees.

Your chin was quivering as tears broke free. “I can’t,” you tried to argue, but Bucky’s hands were on your face, his thumbs sweeping through your tears.

“Darlin’, you can,” he assured you, sapphire swirling through his eyes. “Breathe, okay? You can do this.” Bucky grabbed your hand and pressed it to his chest.

Swallowing around the knot in your throat, you did as he asked. You closed your eyes and focused on his breathing, the way his chest rose and fell rhythmically, the  _ba-dum, ba-dum_  of his heart against your palm. Then there was his hand on your wrist, the way his fingers flexed, the buttery leather of his fingerless gloves, the seam of string that held the fabric together, all of it moving smoothly against your skin.

Before you knew it, Bucky’s hand was on your face again, tucking the hair behind your ear. “There you go, doll.”

You let out a huff, your hand falling from his chest, your vision coming back to you slowly. “Thank you.”

“No sweat,” he said, blushing lightly. “Where are you headed next?”

With a subtle shrug, you answered with a question of your own. “You guys need a hand with anything?”

_Hell yes, we do. Especially another woman._

Your head tipped to the side a bit as you heard a young woman, her accent subtle, her voice soft, and it made you chuckle. “Never mind, I already got my answer.”

All eyes were on you as you marched past Bucky and strode purposefully over to the quinjet, boarding it a moment later. You ignored the way they stared at you as you sat down next to the only female on board, held out your hand, and gave her a wink.

_I’m Y/N, and it’s a pleasure to meet you._

The young woman gave a bright smile and wrapped her hand in yours, the red-hued indication of her powers flaring to life at the brush your skin.

_I’m Wanda._

_This is going to be so much fun._

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

”Dealing with Wanda is one thing,” Steve argued with Tony.

Tony was already shaking his head. “You only say that because we don’t know anything about Y/N.”

“Can you blame me? She isn’t exactly forthcoming with that information.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” you chuckled.

Steve groaned and gave his head a shake. “Get outta my head,” he demanded, hands balled into fists at his sides.

You stepped out from the corner of the room. “I ain’t in your head, Captain.”

Irritation slammed into you like a tidal wave. “What are  _you_  doing here?”

“Telling Tony a little bit about myself,” you answered, hands on your hips, eyebrow arched. “Perhaps you’d like to sit in, be one of the first to know all the nitty gritty details. That way, you can run off and tell all your little friends about the freak.” You couldn’t hide the bitterness in your voice no matter how hard you tried.

“That’s not how things work here,” Tony tried to say, turning to face you, his eyes kind and curious.

You rolled your eyes and huffed. “That’s how things work everywhere, Stark.”

“Have you even  _met_  the other people?” Tony said, exasperation heavy on his tongue. “We work with The Hulk, for fuck sake. You’re not the only freak here.”

“Tell that to him.” You waved your hand at Steve, green sparks dancing along your fingertips.

Steve was glaring at you. “No powers unless you’re training or in the field.”

“Fuck off,” you sneered, the sparks growing brighter.

“Alright, you two,” Tony interrupted, standing directly in front of you, his anxiety swirling around you. “Perhaps you should leave, Captain.”

Steve stormed off with a growl, grumbling under his breath.

That was six days ago. From that moment on, Tony and Bruce kept you pretty busy, putting you through every test their collectively insane IQ’s could conceive. Numerous vials were filled with blood, you’d undergone multiple stress tests - physical and mystical. It seemed like it was never going to end.

You had just stepped off the treadmill, wiping sweat from your face when Steve and Bucky came into the room.

“Hiya, boys,” you purred playfully, taking mental note of the way Bucky’s eyes darkened just the slightest.

“Y/N,” Steve greeted gruffly, his shoulders tight.

“Oh, you’re actually talking to me today,” you joked. “What an improvement.”

_Don’t push it._

You shot him a wink.  _“I’ll do my best.”_

Bucky let out a snort of laughter at the silent exchange, stopping only because Steve jabbed him in the ribs. “Come on, punk,” he argued, wincing. “If the roles were reversed -”

“She wouldn’t fuckin’ be here.”

That was it. You’d had enough of Steve’s attitude to last a lifetime.

“What’s your problem, huh?” you demanded, power surging through you, sparking along your hands.

“You’re my problem,” was his blunt answer.

“No shit,” you snarled.

Bucky was between you, a hand seeking out yours, shooting daggers at his best friend. “Back off, man.”

Steve kept glaring at you over Bucky’s shoulder. “She’s too reckless, Buck. She’s a goddamn liability.”

“That’s what they said about me,” he shot back, voice low and rough.

“It’s not the same thing, and you know it.” Steve tried arguing.

“Like hell it ain’t,” Bucky scoffed.

The cool wave that had been washing over you, slowly putting out the flames surging through your veins, started to pull back. You’d dealt with not being wanted ever since you were born, you could deal with it a little longer. You wrenched your hand from the super soldier in front of you and gave Steve a tight smile.

“You win, Steve,” you ground out, doing your best to keep the emotion from your voice. Before either of the men could say anything, you ran from the room, a blur of emerald and a breeze that blew the papers from Bruce’s desk were the only sign that you had been there.

Bucky pushed Steve in the chest, making his friend stumble back. “Put your dick away and stop pissing on everything like you fuckin’ own it!”

“Excuse me?” Steve snapped.

“You heard me,” Bucky ground out. “From the moment you met Y/N, you’ve been treating her like shit, like she doesn’t belong here, like she’s evil.”

“How do you know she’s not?”

Bucky took a step back. “Wow,” he murmured. “I never thought I’d see the day. You sound just like  _them_.”

Steve was shaking his head. “We know nothing about her -”

“She is  _literally_  thousands of years old,” Bruce calmly interrupted Steve’s argument. “Predates anyone… anything I’ve ever seen, anything Tony’s ever seen. Like Wanda, she’s a mind reader, has telekinesis, and mind control. She’s also one of the strongest empaths on record. Then, there’s her power. It’s… raw and immense, fierce and extreme, resplendent and vicious. I… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “She took out an army with her mind with that power, Bruce.”

“Like you wouldn’t do the same, Steve,” Bucky scoffed. “You, who took on the United States government because of me.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“It never is with you,” Bucky sighed heavily. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if I can clean up the mess you made.”

Wanda was sitting on your bed when you blew into the room, the rush of air blowing her hair back.

“You can’t leave,” she murmured, her eyes flashing red, one leg pulled up, her chin resting on her knee.

Leaving Wanda was the last thing you wanted to do. In the short time you’d been at the compound, the two of you became close, the bond between you greater than friendship. It was as if you were sisters, separated at creation, willing to do anything for one another. Just the thought of not seeing her again made tears prick your eyes.

“I’m not wanted here.” You stode over to the closet and pulled out the clothes you had been wearing last week.

 _”I want you here.”_  Wanda’s voice rubbed inside your brain like velvet, soft and soothing, warm and inviting.

You couldn’t face her.  _”It feels like you’re the only one that does.”_

_”Is that a bad thing?”_

_”It is when the man in charge would rather see me dead than accept my help.”_

Wanda pushed up from the bed and hugged you from behind.  _”Steve is… protective and passionate. He doesn’t mean to come off like a dick.”_

Despite the emotion in your chest, you chuckled. You turned in her grip and gave her a squeeze. There was a knock on the open door just then.

“Don’t leave because Steve’s an asshole,” Bucky pleaded, entering your room without an invitation.

You hadn’t told Wanda you were staying, and part of you wanted to, if only to spite Steve. Then there was the part of you that had gotten used to the solitude of not having to worry what everyone else thought of you, how they judged you, how they talked about you behind closed doors; it was exhausting. But, if you left, you’d have less of a chance of finding out where you came from. Combine that with the fact that you weren’t ready to part from Wanda, there was only one choice to make.

“Alright,” you conceded happily. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

Later that night, sitting on the roof, your legs hanging over the side, you gazed up at the stars. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t… hate you,” Steve muttered, crossing the roof slowly.

“Yeah, you do,” you argued, shuddering under the immense weight of negativity flowing off of the super soldier.

He pulled in several ragged breaths and tried again. “I don’t hate you, Y/N.”

Rolling your eyes, you shook your head. “Can’t lie to an empath, Captain. Think you would have figured that out by now.”

“And with as old as you are,” he countered, “one would assume that you could tell the difference between hate and suspicion.”

“So, tell me, Captain,” you stood and leveled Steve with a cold stare. “What are your suspicions.”

_”That you’ll use us, manipulate each and every one of us.”_

_“Why would I do that?”_

_“You tell me. You annihilated those men without hesitation.”_

“They killed the only family I’d ever known,” you shouted, your voice thick and heavy. “Besides, you were on your way to do the exact same thing.”

Steve blew out a breath through his nose. “That’s not the point.”

“It is,” you ground out. “Face it, looking at me is like looking in the fuckin’ mirror, and you don’t like what you see.”

Dark eyes drilled into yours. “If it were up to me -”

“Well, it ain’t,” you interrupted, a heaving sigh leaving you. “Look, I get it, you don’t trust me. But, it’s a two way street, pal, and you’ve given me absolutely no reason to trust you either. You don’t have to like that I’m here, but I ain’t leaving because you’ve got a bug up your ass about it. The way I see it, this place is plenty big, and with all these tests I’m taking, I’m only ever in the lab or my room.”

“What’s your point?” His irritation was exhausting and you’d already been through the ringer.

You scraped a hand over your face and groaned. “I’ll stay in my corner, out of the way. Once Bruce and Tony are done with their tests, I’ll get outta your hair.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What do you want in return?”

“Besides not being treated like I’m the harbinger of death?” you scoffed loudly. “I don’t want a goddamn thing, Steve.”

The pressure inside your head started to lessen, and it had everything to do with the change in Steve’s demeanor. The muscle in his jaw clenched hypnotically as his mind spun. You wanted to listen in, to see what his thought process was, but you refrained.

“Okay, Y/N,” he agreed.

“Truce?” you inquired, holding your hand out.

Steve pulled in a deep breath before shaking your hand. “Truce.”


	3. Chapter 3

Even though several weeks had passed, and he had been putting everything he had into helping Y/N, Bruce was at a loss. He had been peering into the microscope, Y/N’s blood between two slides, for hours, and he was even more confused than before. He had no idea who - or what - Y/N was. Her blood cells were… weird, like nothing he’d ever seen before, and he’d seen a lot.

He sat back in his seat and pulled the thin-framed glasses from his face, pinching the bridge of his nose as he blew out a harsh breath. He was tired, the kind of tired he could feel in the marrow of his bones, making them ache; he needed to get up and move around.

Keeping an eye on Y/N as she used her power to easily cut through the thickest sheet of steel Tony could provide, Bruce walked the circumference of the office several times over. It was borderline hypnotising, watching Y/N. She was not just stunning to look at, but she had this grace about her; every move she made was with purpose. It was exquisite, containing this otherworldly essence that brought a sense of familiarity. Just not enough for Bruce to figure out.

Bruce wanted to know more about her, but not in  _that_  way. He saw the way Bucky looked at her, knew the look all too well, because he used to look at Betty that way, like he wanted to spend the rest of his life telling her how much he loved her, how brilliant and elegant she was, how he would lay down his life to save hers.

“What’cha got, Banner?” Tony asked as he strode in, a protein shake in one hand, his cell phone in the other.

Bruce managed to keep the shriek of surprise contained, though barely. “Nothing,” was his simple answer.

Tony peered at the smartest man he knew. Scratch that, the second smartest person he knew. “It’s been three weeks. How do you not have anything?”

“It would probably help if you weren’t out on every mission you can manage to find,” Bruce bit out, his blood pressure elevating.

“Hey,” Tony purred, his eyebrow arching playfully. “Iron Man is in high demand right now.”

“We’re all in high demand right now,” Bruce argued.

Tony rolled his eyes as he moved to the other side of the room where Y/N was now carving life-size unicorns out of the steel, a snort leaving him at the sight.

“Run the numbers by me once more,” Tony instructed, pulling a drink from the shake with the next breath.

After spending another long day in the lab, showing Tony and Bruce what you could do, you travelled up to the roof of the compound and stretched out on the floor. Once the muscles in your lower back started protesting, you used your power to form a chaise lounge. Next to a bed, it was the most comfortable thing you could think of. Besides, if you concocted a bed, you’d be asleep in several minutes.

You gazed at the stars and, using your finger, you moved them about, changing their positions, laughing at the borderline obscene images that twinkled down upon you.

“We’re going to be the first place NASA calls, you know,” Bucky chuckled from behind you.

Without a second thought, you formed a seat to your left, keeping your attention to the stars.

“I’ll put them back,” you promised, amusement coloring your words.

Taking his seat, Bucky pushed his head back to gaze at your works. “Now that’s an interesting constellation. What will you name it?”

You hummed softly as you thought about it. “Sumens illud a tergo,” you finally uttered a handful of moments later.

“And for those of us who don’t speak Latin,” Bucky deadpanned.

“Taking it from behind.”

He couldn’t help it, he started laughing, and God, you loved how rich it was. “That’s amazing.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet, Buck,” you declared happily.

You flicked your wrist, moving the stars to one side, giving you ample room to work. Moving your fingers as if you were typing, you maneuvered a multitude of stars around, wearing a wide smile, until you were happy with the results.

You were struggling to keep from laughing when you made your announcement. “May I present the only thing bigger than Tony’s ego; Steve’s ego.” Despite being Steve’s best friend, Bucky snorted in laughter at the massive replica of Steve’s shield, which only made you laugh harder.

“Steve’s not that bad,” he said through the tears that were now rolling down his face.

“To you, he’s not.” With another flick of your wrists, the stars were back in their original positions.

Bucky turned to look at you. “I thought you guys were getting along.”

“Getting along, no,” you chuckled wryly. “We have an… understanding,” you explained cryptically.

“Oh, yes. I remember now, you guys are tolerating each other until -”

“Bruce figures out what the fuck I am,” you finished, your tone flat and unamused.

“Hey,” Bucky ground out.

Your head lolled to the side and you let out an unamused huff. “I ain’t normal, that’s for sure.” As if to prove your point, you held your hand out and brought forth a large black weapon. You then twirled it around expertly, narrowly avoiding the man sitting next to you, the man that didn’t flinch.

“I just watched you rearrange the stars, Y/N,” Bucky mused. “And I hate to burst your emo bubble, but no one here is normal.”

The weapon in your hand turned into flames before disappearing completely. “But you know  _who_  and  _what_  you are, Buck. I have absolutely no idea.”

“And you will,” he assured you, his eyes cool and calm. They reminded you of the ocean; a place that could be downright scary at times, but also a place that brought you comfort.

You didn’t argue with him, nor did you agree with him, you just sat there and stared at the stars until you couldn’t keep your eyes open anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve was shouting, panic creeping into his voice. “They’ve got a cannon.”

“Of course they have a cannon,” Bucky gruffed.

“Get out of there, Cap,” Sam implored, the wind rushing into the mic as he dove out of the sky.

“You don’t think I’m tryin?” Steve ground out. His shield was flying through the room, taking out several enemy agents before returning to him.

You and Bucky were making your way through the other end of the warehouse, searching for the master switch that would shut the whole thing down. It was your first mission with the Avengers, and the last thing you wanted to do was let them down. They had taken you in, given you a place to stay, to lay your head at night, to call your home, no matter how badly Steve seemed to dislike you.

“Got a bogey on your six, Cap,” Sam announced, sounding out of breath and worse for the wear.

“On it,” you said without missing a beat. “Bucky can handle the master switch by himself.”

Without waiting for approval or rejection, you shifted your weight and tore off down a long hall that seemed to have a dead end. With a bit of concentration, you waved your hand and sent yourself through the wall, bits of debris falling to the floor a moment later. You kept going, making your own way to Steve, and killing anyone that stood in your way. The only thing that came close to making you stop was the sight of a large cannon, humming with electricity, glowing blue, aimed at Steve.

Steve’s shield was on the floor and his hands were in the air. “Killing me doesn’t ensure your survival,” he ground out, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

“The rest of your… people will be dealt with soon enough,” whatever-his-name-was sneered, his finger pulling the trigger a moment later.

Using your momentum, you kicked the shield up and caught it as you ran. You launched yourself through the air and passed in front of Steve just as the bright blue beam erupted from the barrel. It slammed into the shield, sending you full force into Steve. He may have been other-worldly strong, but there was no way he could have withstood the impact of your body hurtled into his thanks to a Tesseract-fueled weapon.

The pair of you were driven through the wall and flying through the air. Steve’s arms instinctively wrapped around you and held you to him as your hand shot out. Emerald-hued energy shimmered against the ground and your hand as you wielded it to slow your descent.

“We’re down,” Steve shouted into his comm once his feet were on the ground. “But, they’ve still got the weapon.”

“Master switch has been disabled,” Bucky chimed in. .

Sam was next. “I got eyes on ‘em. They’re loading up on the west side, gettin’ ready to head out.”

“Not on my watch. Let’s go, Cap,” you announced with a smirk.

Steve gave you a smile that actually reached his eyes. “On your left.”

Your muscles were sore, but in a hell-yes-you-kicked-ass kind of way. You hadn’t been able to stop smiling the entire ride back to the compound. Working with the Avengers felt good, it meant being able to use your abilities to save people, rather than being the one to clean up the mess.

Steve was waiting for you in the common room after you had showered and changed clothes. “I need to apologize.”

After taking a drink of beer, you shrugged your shoulders. “For what?”

“For acting like a jackass all this time,” he admitted. “You never deserved it, and there was absolutely no excuse for it.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” you sighed heavily. “There was no need for it.”

“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?” Steve chuckled wryly.

Pulling in a deep breath, you realized there was something you needed to do. “I’m sorry.”

“Wait… you’re apologizing?” He had this deer-in-the-headlights look that you found adorable.

“God knows I haven’t made it easy,” you acknowledged. “I just… I’ve been around a long time, Steve.”

“Yeah, well, so have Bucky and I.”

You shook your head before taking another drink. “The two of you are babies compared to me. I’ve been around for… fuck, it feels like forever at times. I’ve seen galaxies shaped and formed only to be destroyed by war. I’ve seen beautiful creatures ripped apart by disease and famine. I’ve seen… I’ve seen it  _all_ , Steve.”

“Do Bruce and Tony know this?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“I’ve told them everything I know,” was your breathy answer. The fear that you would one day die without knowing who you were or where you came from wasn’t as big of a secret as you would have liked.

Steve’s hand was on your shoulder and his eyes were soft as they met yours. “They’ll figure it out,” he assured you.

You gave him a gentle smile,unable to keep from  jumping when Bucky’s voice erupted behind you. “You guys aren’t going to kill one another, are you?”

Your emerald power shimmered over every inch of you, shocking Steve’s hand as it was still resting heavily on your shoulder.

“Shit,” the two of you hissed in unison.

“Damn it, Bucky,” you admonished the man approaching you from behind, sending a jolt of your power through him.

Steve let out a laugh as Bucky cringed, his hair standing on end for a split second. “I think you might be my new favorite person, Y/N.”

“Watch it, punk,” Bucky warned lowly. “And you -”

You whirled to face him, stepping back at the predatory gleam in his eyes. “Shouldn’t sneak up on people,” you interrupted him, a ridiculing tone to your voice.

“You really should respect your elders, jerk,” Steve added, shooting you a wink.

Bucky’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How much older we talkin’?”

“Higher than you can count,” you teased, setting the empty bottle into the recycling.

“I’ll have you know -” Bucky started, but you didn’t let him finish.

“Older than that,” you giggled.

Bucky stopped his advances, his brows furrowing together as his mind tried to figure it out. When you thought he’d be standing there all night, you jabbed Steve in the ribs.

“How long do you reckon we’ll be standing here?” you whispered.

“I can  _hear_  you,” Bucky snapped playfully. “Okay, but the two of us combined -”

Steve shook his head. “Not even close.”

With one brow arched, Bucky’s eyes roved over you in a way that made a chill slither along your spine. “You’re  _really_  older than that?”

Remembering the conversation from a few minutes ago, Steve got an idea. “Has Bruce mentioned anything about carbon dating?”

“I mean, he’s thrown around a lot of scientific terminology,” you mumbled, your thoughts swirling as you tried to remember anything like that.

“It’s mainly used for dating fossils,” Bucky noted, leaning back against the counter.

Steve mirrored Bucky, leaning against the other counter, his arms crossed. “Yeah, but could the same be done with… people like us?”

Your already swirling mind was sent into overdrive. “What, like, have Bruce draw my blood and carbon date it?”

“You really think Bruce can do that?” Bucky had a look of disbelief on his face, yet, he sounded genuinely curious.

You raked a hand through your still damp hair. “There’s only one way to find out.”


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce was standing there, a hand running through his unruly and charcoal and grey curls. “You do realize what this will entail.”

“Pain,” you sighed. “Lots and lots of pain.”

He tried not to, but Bruce chuckled. “If your metabolism wasn’t crazy, -”

“You’d be able to put me under,” you finished for him, his own thoughts swirling through your brain. “Can you quiet down a bit, doc? You’re giving me a headache.”

“Sorry,” Bruce murmured, his eyes squeezing closed as he tried to get his brain under control. “I’m nervous. Never done anything like this before.”

“Neither have I,” you scoffed.

The anxiety in your chest was threatening to rip you apart from the inside out, and it was as if Bucky could sense it. He reached out and grabbed your hand, giving it a firm squeeze. Everything about him was calm, collected, at ease, and your empathic ability flared up, grabbing onto his cooling waves of assurance.

Bucky gave you a warm smile before turning his attention to Bruce. “I might be overstepping here, but could I be in there during the procedure? I mean, if it’s okay with you.”

You got lost in his oceanic eyes as soon as they were back on you. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Buck, but I need you in there with me.”

Showing vulnerability was never something you did well with; you had always been independent, almost to a fault. So, admitting something like that, needing someone, needing  _him_ , was a giant leap for you.

“I ain’t going anywhere, doll,” he breathed. Another wave of ease rolled through you, calming your pounding heart and quieting the chatter of Bruce’s inner thoughts that raged, despite your previous request.

Bruce pulled in a deep breath before issuing an order. “You’ll need to get scrubbed in, Bucky.”

Twenty-five minutes later, you were on your side, Bucky’s hands wrapped in yours, a cold sweat covering every inch of you, tears streaming down your face, and a scream caught in your throat. Bucky had blatantly gone against protocol and hadn’t worn a face mask into the room. You would have to thank him later for that.

“Come on, doll,” Bucky purred, his thumbs sweeping over your clammy skin. “Breathe with me.”

His eyes were drilling into yours and his lips were pursed as he blew out the breath he just got done holding for several seconds. You were trying to mirror him, but it was pretty goddamn difficult with Bruce Banner collecting a core sample of your bone marrow. You wanted to harness your power and throw him across the room, but there was something you wanted even more; to find out  _what_  you were.

Bruce and Tony had spent two months running every possible test known to mankind on you, and the results were always inconclusive, negative, insufficient data. So, if you had to go through an immense amount of pain to  _actually_  get a result that meant something, then that was exactly what you would do.

Bruce’s voice was thick with worry when he said, “I need her to calm down.”

“Y/N, look at me,” Bucky ordered, his voice rough and gritty.

You hadn’t remembered closing your eyes when you started whining, the scream held hostage in your throat was gaining momentum. It needed to get out, to fill the room, to shatter the glass, to lash out and hurt someone. Bucky got down on his knees and planted himself less than five inches from your face.

“Open your goddamn eyes, doll.”

Your blood pressure was too high, your heart felt like it was going to pound out of your chest, and it felt like your hip was being ground to dust. One of Bucky’s hands was on the side of your face, pushing away the hair that was stuck to your forehead and cheek.

“I ca- can’t,” was your strained answer.

He wasn’t happy at your refusal, but he didn’t dwell on it. “Fine,” he huffed, his breath hot on your skin. “Then focus on me.”

Now, that almost made your eyes flick open, and they probably would have, had Bruce not pushed the hollow needle deep into your bone. Bucky unraveled his hands from your grip and seized your wrist as he placed it against his chest.

“Focus on my heartbeat.” It was strong and steady against your palm;  _ba-dum, ba-dum_. Your breathing had slowed down slightly, but not enough to make a difference. Bucky’s hand covered yours, his long fingers pushing between yours. With his other hand, he pressed your hand to your chest, doing the same thing with his fingers.

“Make them match, doll.” Jesus, you could get real used to hearing him use that term of endearment on you, but right then was neither the time, nor the place.

You were pulling in deep and refreshing breaths, swearing that you were standing on a beach, your toes in the sand, the surf crashing around you.

“That’s good, doll,” Bucky praised you softly. “You’re doin’ so good.”

“Just a little bit more,” Banner was murmuring, more to himself than either of you.

Bucky’s heartbeat was hypnotic. You found yourself wanting to rest your cheek against his chest, feel it up close and personal. However, you were willing to take what you could get; your hand pressed to his chest, the blood rushing through your veins filled with desperation, the need to match his too great to ignore.

The rate at which the machines were beeping had slowed down drastically, as had the pain you were experiencing. You were so focused on Bucky, on matching your breathing, your heart rate, on the way his calming nature washed over you like waves, that when Bruce announced the procedure was complete, you were taken aback.

You and Bucky stayed in the operating room long after Bruce had sewn up the incision, staring at one another, hearts beating as one. All of your previous anxieties had been silenced, leaving your mind comfortably numb, and for the first time in a long time, at peace.

On the quinjet, you were sitting on the floor, Wanda’s legs pressed against your arms, her fingers working through your hair, massaging your scalp before manipulating the strands into a braid. She was talking softly, about her home country, but mostly about Pietro, and how badly she was missing him.

She had come running up to you after your procedure, concern radiating off of her. “Thank God,” she choked out, tears in her eyes.

“Wan,” you sighed happily, wrapping your arms around her. “I told you I would be okay.”

“I know you did,” she sniffled, her face turning into your neck. “I was still worried.”

She hadn’t let you out of her sight since. Not that you minded; you loved Wanda like a sister. There was a connection between the two of you that you’d never had with anyone else, and it made you feel like you belonged, rather than an outcast.

You were half-listening to Wanda when you ‘overheard’ another conversation.

“How’s she doin’, Buck?” Steve asked his best friend as he maneuvered the quinjet through the air. “Giving a sample of your bone marrow isn’t exactly easy.”

Bucky chuckled softly. “You’re tellin’ me, punk. She ‘bout deformed my hand. Had to have Stark take a look at it before we left.” The soft whirring of his hand as he flexed it felt like a feather inside your brain; slightly tickling you yet, oddly soothing.

Steve echoed Bucky’s laugh. “You think she’s good to be on the mission?”

“You don’t?” Bucky gave voice to your silent question.

“Her hip was drilled into less than four hours ago,” was Steve’s answer. “This isn’t going to be an easy mission. I just want to make sure she won’t be… a liability.”

If Steve had said that any other time before last night, you would have gone off on him, unleashed your barely-controlled fury on the super soldier, see if he really could survive almost anything you could throw at him. But that wasn’t who you were anymore.

Bucky’s eyes were on you for several seconds before Bucky said anything. “Y/N’s good to go.”

“You’re… different,” Steve noted, curiosity heavy on his tongue. “Have been since Y/N joined us.”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed softly. “I can feel it. It’s… it’s nice.”

Wanda tugged on your hair as she affixed the binder to the end of the braid. “It’s rude to eavesdrop.”

“Ouch,” you hissed. “I wasn’t doing it on purpose.” You pushed your shoulder into her leg playfully.

“I know.” She bent down and dropped a friendly kiss to your crown. “How are you feeling?”

With your eyes closed, your head lolled back against her thigh and you blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s still pretty sore. I’ve never had to rebuild my bones before.”

 _I can manipulate it into something else,_  her soft accent brushed against your brain.  _Then again, so can you._

Despite the burning in your bones, you chuckled.  _I like it when you do it._

When you opened your eyes, you knew they were glowing scarlet, mirroring the woman whose lap your head was in. Her power was warm, sparking against your skin, making the hair on your arms stand. It was similar to yours, but so very different. Wanda’s powers were fresher than yours, newer, they could be a bit bumpy at certain times, but that wasn’t her fault.

She wasn’t born with her powers, as you were, men stole her and Pietro, experimented on them, turned them into weapons of mass destruction. Thankfully, they had seen what was happening before it was too late, and in doing so, turned their lives around to protect the innocent.

“Thank you,” you hummed, a smile on your face.

The quinjet began its descent just then and Bucky was in front of you, his hand held out. “Come on, doll. Let’s go kick some ass.”


	6. Chapter 6

You and Wanda were back-to-back, your emerald-hued power swirling together with the scarlet of hers as the two of you barely kept the wave of enemies at bay. It hadn’t been easy. The men had the same serum running through their veins that Steve did, they had been manipulated and programmed like Bucky. They felt no pain, they had no remorse; they were the perfect soldier.

There was sweat running down your neck and spine, your hair was sticking to your skin, and your hip was throbbing. Wanda was panting with the effort it was taking to hold the men at bay, and you could feel the exhaustion taking its toll on her.

“How much longer, Cap?” you demanded to know, your voice tight, your teeth clenched together.

Steve and Bucky had gone into the facility over an hour ago, something about needing to get some information on an Infinity Stone. Whatever the hell that was. Clint was… somewhere, killing as many people as he could with his arrows. It was helping thin the herd, but everyone knew that he didn’t have an infinite amount of arrows.

 _Cap, talk to me,_  you growled inside of his head.

There was nothing; no movement of any kind, no answer - in the comm or in his head, he had gone radio silent.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Panic was blossoming inside your chest.

Bucky’s thick voice was in your ear. “Y/N, we’re down.”

Wanda gasped and looked at you over your shoulder. “We need something big, Em.” Em was short for emerald, the color of your power, a nickname Wanda had given you the first time she had seen you in action.

“Clint, you might want to take some cover,” was your warning.

“What’cha got planned, kid?” An arrow zipped close to you, landing right between the eyes of someone you hadn’t known was there.

You blew out a ragged breath before answering. “I don’t fuckin’ know.”

Wanda’s hand was in yours as the two of you dug deep, so much deeper than either of you thought possible, deeper than the two of you had ever done before. You could feel Wanda’s power; it was scarlet red and simmering, hot and sharp to the touch. Yours on the other hand was pitch and thick like tar, sticking to anything and everything. It made you feel dirty and wicked. You didn’t like it at all, but there was no turning back.

With a primal scream tearing out of your throats, you and Wanda unharnessed everything you had and watched as wave after wave of enemies were lifted from the ground, their weapons falling from their hands, landing with a dull and far away sounding  _thunk_.

Their bodies were carried toward you, moving as if on an invisible wave, hovering there, just out of reach, their eyes wide and filled with fear, a fear so raw and primal, it thrilled part of you. The two of you gave one final push of your power, sending the hundreds of men flying through the air, their gravelly screams ending abruptly as their bodies connected with the ground almost a hundred miles away.

Wanda collapsed, her skin pale and clammy. You pressed your fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse. Only when you found one did you give a command.

“Clint! I need you with Wanda while I go and get Cap and Bucky.”

You didn’t know how you had any energy left, but you found yourself tearing off across the field.

 _Where are you guys?_  You rammed your way through the front entrance, rubble and bodies at your feet.

“Bucky, Steve,” you screamed, your voice raw and ready to break.  _Come on, talk to me!_

The first floor was void of the two men, and you were wracking your brain trying to remember where Steve had said they were going. You pushed yourself up three flights of stairs, haphazardly clearing each one before taking the stairs three at a time. You had just reached the fourth floor when Bucky’s wrecked voice was in your head.

_Basement, northwest corner._

“Fuck,” you snarled. The floor at your feet disintegrated in a cloud of green smoke as you plummeted, each level doing the same just as your feet were about to touch the concrete.

You landed with a grunt, exhaustion starting to settle deep in your bones, the pain in your hip becoming almost unbearable. “I’m here,” you called out into the dark room as you started heading toward the northwest corner.

There was the unmistakable sound of metal scraping against the concrete; Bucky’s arm. You took off, your hand completely engulfed in a flame that lit your way. Once you vaulted over the massive pile of rubble, you sent the flame to the ceiling and made quick work of uncovering the two men.

Steve was unconscious, barely breathing, his left arm bent at an odd angle, the shield just out of his reach. There was blood spilling from his nose and mouth, and if he hadn’t been wearing the blue cowl, you had a feeling there would be wide and weeping gashes.

Bucky, on the other hand, was just on the right side of awake. You dropped in front of him and held his face in your hands. His eyes were unfocused as they met yours. His hair was slick with blood and it was spilling down the back and sides of his neck, staining the dark gear he was wearing.

“Hey, doll,” he murmured before passing out.

“I got Wanda on the jet,” Clint’s voice broke through the comm. “Where are you?”

You sniffled loudly at the sudden wave of emotion that surged through you. “Ba- basement,” you stammered. “Hurry, Clint.”

Three days after the catastrophic mission, you were wearing a pair of yoga pants and an oversized shirt as you paced outside of Bruce’s office. You had just stepped out of the shower when FRIDAY alerted you to a message.

“Agent Y/N,” she cooed. “Doctor Banner has requested that you join him in his office.”

Your stomach pitched around painfully. “Did he say what for?”

“Just that there are some test results to go over.”

“Tell him I’m on my way, please,” was your raspy request.

“Will do, ma’am.”

That had been fifteen minutes ago.

Test results were a good thing, right? So, why were you so nervous?

“Y/N?” Bruce questioned as he opened the door. “I was wondering what happened to you.”

You scraped a hand over your face. “Sorry, Banner,” you mumbled, following him into the room and closing the door behind you.

“It’s quite alright. You’ve had a pretty busy week.” He grabbed your file and opened it, quickly finding the sheet that held the results from your biopsy. “So, Tony and I worked together on this, and we think we have a general idea of just how old you are.”

You were nodding, your hands wringing together, both of them shimmering emerald. “It’s a hard thing to keep track of; time,” you murmured, mostly to yourself. “I remember so much, too much, but there are things that are missing, things that I  _know_  I know.”

“Well, when you’ve been alive for almost three thousand years, that comes as no surprise.” Bruce was holding the paper so you could take it from him, see the results with your own two eyes.

There it was, in black and white, a rough estimate of your age. That was all it contained, though. Nothing about your genealogy, where you could have come from, who your family members could possibly be; not an iota.

Your eyes filled with tears that you rapidly blinked away. “That’s it?”

“I’m sorry, Y/N. There’s nothing else we can do,” he lamented, a sad gleam in his eyes.

“Yeah, no, I mean… thank you,” you stammered. Clutching the paper in your hand, you left his office and wandered aimlessly around the compound. You might not have had a destination in mind, but ten minutes later, you found yourself standing outside of Bucky’s room, and you were knocking on the door.

He was wearing a pained scowl as he greeted you. “You alright, doll?”

“I don’t know. I should be,” you answered, handing over the results as you walked past.

Bucky let out a low whistle. “Three thousand years old? Damn, doll.”

“I knew I was old,” you chuckled nervously, dropping onto the edge of his bed. “But that’s…  _old_.”

He was sitting next to you, the cool comfort his presence always brought you peace, wrapping around you like an ocean wave. “You’re not happy, though.”

It wasn’t a question. Bucky had gotten to know you pretty damn well over the last several months. He had seen you at your lowest, and been there to celebrate with you at your highest. You hardly had to say anything most times, he could read you like an open book.

“I don’t know what I am,” you noted with a shrug. “I guess that’s the problem.”

Bucky’s arm was around your shoulders and he was kissing your forehead. “We’ll keep looking, doll. I promise.”

“Thank you, Bucky,” you sighed, turning your face into him. “For everything.”


	7. Chapter 7

The nightmares started soon after the mission. You weren’t sure if it had something to do with almost losing Bucky, Steve, and Wanda, or if it was an after effect of dipping your finger into the deepest and darkest part of you. Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, you didn’t like it.

From that point on, Fury wanted you on all the missions, and at first, you were pumped. But, soon enough, the novelty had worn off. What was once shiny and new was now dull and repetitive. Even with Wanda at your side, Bucky and Cap taking the lead, Clint keeping a watchful eye on the group, you were getting tired of it.

You weren’t tired of going on missions and saving the day, per se, it was the way that you were treated, the way people - especially members of the board - looked at you; like you were a menace, a weapon, that the only reason you were there was to wreak havoc. You hated it, hated the way it made you feel. They were just words, but God, they cut deeper than any weapon you had ever encountered.

It had gotten to the point that you hated even being in the compound. Because, if you were in the compound, Fury would want to talk to you, and if Fury wanted to talk to you, then you’d be sent on another insane mission. If you went on another mission, if you came close to losing control one more time, well, you would become an enemy of SHIELD. You had survived a lot of things in your long life, but losing your best friends, losing Bucky; you couldn’t live without them.

Over the last six months, your connection with Bucky had grown stronger. Where one was, the other was sure to be around; it seemed neither of you could go anywhere alone. You were also in a sort of relationship purgatory; definitely interested in one another, but never really taking that step. The two of you held hands, walked arm-in-arm down the hallways, exchanged gentle kisses, and curled around each other at night; whether it was in a bed or on a couch.

The latter was where Steve found you.

“Hey guys,” he called out, someone following close behind. “Look who I found wandering the halls.”

With a chuckle, Bucky untangled himself and pushed off the couch. “Man, it’s been a while. Good to see you,” he addressed the new arrival.

You watched the three men and couldn’t keep from smiling. It had been a while since you’d seen Bucky smile genuinely, and God, did he look amazing. Bucky’s voice brought you back to reality, introducing you to the god of thunder.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Thor greeted you. He took your hand in his and pressed a cordial kiss to your knuckles.

You were looking at him with your eyes narrowed slightly. “Do we… do I know you?”

Thor’s eyes were narrowed, too. “I do not recall having met you before.”

“Well, you know what they say,” you muttered, shaking your head. “Everyone has a twin.”

“Yes, that must be it,” Thor chuckled heartily.

Bucky’s arm was draped around your shoulders, not in a this-is-my-girlfriend-don’t-touch-her sort of way, but because it was comfortable and soothing to the both of you. “What brings you all the way down here?”

“It is my mother,” he said solemnly. “She has fallen ill.”

A cold sadness washed through you, making you suck in a sharp breath. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Thor.”

“What do you need?” Steve asked, sorrow and understanding in his eyes.

“Any extra hands you can spare, we can use,” he answered. “There is a tale of an antidote. It is hard to get to. The journey is long and dangerous.”

“I’ll go,” you volunteered quickly. Three sets of intense blue eyes were on you, but it was Bucky that said anything.

“Doll, don’t you think we should talk about this?”

You were shaking your head. “No, I want to help.”

“Is this because of the nightmares?” Bucky whispered softly, his hands sliding down your arms.

That small motion made goosebumps flare to life on the back of your neck. “It’s not only the nightmares. I just… I gotta get outta here, Buck.”

“You should go, Y/N,” Steve piped in, earning a glare from his best friend. “And take Bucky with you.”

Without waiting another moment, Thor was announcing, “Come, to Asgard!”

You landed on the bifrost with your stomach in your throat.

“It does take some getting used to,” Heimdall, a man with chocolate skin and gold armor, assured you. He smiled down at you and held out his hand.

“Thank you,” you groaned as he helped you stand, though your legs were shaking quite a bit. His golden eyes flicked curiously about your face as you regained your balance. You knew all about Heimdall. He was the guardian of the bifrost, of Asgard, and he had the gift of sight. He could see anything and everything that was going to happen, but the way he was looking at you had you wondering if he had seen your face before.

Bucky was suddenly at your side, his hand curling around yours. “Come on,” he urged. “Thor’s already on his way.”

You gave Heimdall a soft smile, relishing in the rush of heat that seeped through you the moment you took your first steps in Asgard.

Bucky found you standing on the balcony that overlooked Asgard. “I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”

“It’s so beautiful,” you said wistfully. There was so much to look at, almost too much, really. Everything was clean and shining, glittering like diamonds in the sun. It was all so perfect, too perfect.

He wrapped his arms around your waist and dropped his chin to rest on your head. “It sure is,” was his humming agreement.

“Buck?” you said after several long minutes.

“Yeah, doll?” His mouth was next to your ear, bis breath hot on your skin.

You shifted against him, suddenly anxious. Your hands were shimmering emerald, coming to life without you even having to think about it. If your touch hurt him, he didn’t say anything. He never did. You wanted to broach the subject of what was happening between the two of you, but never really knew how to put it into words.

Sure, you could tell him that you wanted more, that you wanted to be his, in every sense of the word. You wanted to hear him tell you that he loved you, that he would love you until his dying day, that he wanted to give you the world, that he would do anything in his power to keep you safe. You wanted to tell him all of those things, and more. You wanted  _him_.

_He doesn’t want you like that._

His stubble scraped your neck when he asked, “Like what?”

“Shit,” you mumbled. You hadn’t meant to let your guard down that much.

Bucky turned you around and looked at you as if you were the only woman he had ever seen. “What is it, doll?”

You leaned into the hand that he rested against your face, watching the micro expressions that flashed across his face. God, he was beautiful. Even back on Earth, away from the shining brilliance of Asgard, Bucky was stunning. Right then and there, you decided to let your guard down completely. Words wouldn’t be good enough, they would never properly convey how you felt about the man before you.

Bucky had kissed you many times before, but his lips never moved past the corners of your mouth. You were about to change that. With your still-glowing hands on either side of his face, you pulled him down, closing the distance slowly, giving him time to back away if crossing the invisible line wasn’t what he wanted. You didn’t have to wait long to find out.

The moment your noses brushed together, Bucky let out a shuddering sigh and pressed his lips to yours. You melted into him, unable to bite back a moan when the damp heat of his tongue swept over your bottom lip. Deepening the kiss, you pushed up to your toes and buried a hand in his hair, the other latching onto his back. His hands found purchase on the small of your back and hip, pulling you tight against him, molding your bodies together.

The kiss was electric and made stars swirl behind your eyelids, it made your heart pound erratically and you could have sworn that time stopped. You were both breathless when you parted, gasping at the thickened air between you.

His thumb was tracing over the swell of your bottom lip when he said, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time, doll.”

“Me, too,” you admitted, your heart beating in time with his.

Before either one of you could spend anymore time on the recent development, there was someone knocking on the door. It was Thor, and he was letting you know that his father wanted to meet the Midgardians that offered their assistance.

You recognized the term, but said nothing. With Bucky’s hand in yours, the three of you made your way to the throne room. It was far beyond anything you could have ever imagined in a throne room. The ceilings were high, vaulted, almost every inch of them covered in murals telling of Asgard’s history. There were ornate carvings in gold on the walls and surrounding the throne. Men stood guard, watching you with watchful eyes, ready to attack should you even  _look_  at their crowned King with malicious intent.

“Breathe, doll,” Bucky instructed, his thumb sweeping over your pulse. “Breathe.”

You let out a nervous huff of air through your nose and rolled your eyes. “I’m tryin’.”

“Father,” Thor’s voice boomed through the cavernous room. “I present to you Midgard’s defenders; Bucky and Y/N.”

Thor stepped to the side, and the moment his hulking frame left you exposed to his father, Odin’s skin paled. You swallowed heavily at the way his one good eye drilled into you.

“It can’t be,” he ground out, rising from his throne, hatred slamming into you like a tidal wave.

“Father?” Thor questioned, stepping forward.

Odin waved off his son, suspicion and something close to fear simmering in his eye. “I put you down myself.”

Bucky was moving to stand in front of you. “No disrespect, sir, but I think you’re confused.”

“Enough of this,” Odin shouted, making you wince.

The silence was deafening as he descended the golden stairs and approached you cautiously. Once in front of you, you could see the wrinkles around his eye, peeking out from the shimmering eye patch. He stared at you for a long time, taking in everything about you; your clothes, your hair, and eyes, and then, you could feel him prodding at your brain. You were strong, yeah, but Odin was stronger.

“Stop, please,” you begged, tears in your eyes.

Thor was by your side, his hand on Odin’s shoulder. “Father, what is happening?”

“She is not who she claims to be. Then again, she does not know who she is,” the old god muttered loud enough only for the small group to hear. With a wave of his hand and a booming command, Odin cleared the room, sending the soldiers away.

Was this it? Were you  _finally_  going to know  _who_  you were? You clung to Bucky as if he were your lifeline, which, let’s face it, he definitely was at that point.

Only when the thick door closed, the sound of it echoing throughout the room, did Odin say the words that would forever change your life.

“Long before you came along, Thor, Frigga and I had another child; a daughter we called Hela.”

Your mind was a jumbled mess, all sorts of thoughts and scenarios rolling around like a stormy sea. You wanted to say something, anything, to deny what Odin was saying, to say that he was lying, that you were not the product of a child that he obviously hated.

“Wait… does that… I’m not… what?” you stammered, your heart in your throat.

Odin’s lips were pulled into a tight line when he answered. “You, Y/N, daughter of Hela, are my granddaughter.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Wha... What?” you stammered, your heart in your throat.

Odin’s lips were pulled into a tight line when he answered. “You, Y/N, daughter of Hela, are my granddaughter.” 

Confusion. Betrayal. Anger. Sorrow. All of those emotions, and more you couldn’t put a name to, swirled in the air around you, threatened to choke you as you breathed them in. They were rolling off of Thor as he glared at his father, large fists flexing at his sides, lightning dancing in his eyes, sparking along his skin. 

“Father, what are you talking about?” he demanded to know. 

Odin gave a heaving sigh, his one good eye travelling over his son’s face. “Now is not the time for this conversation.”

“When  _ would _ be a good time for you?” you managed to ask. “Because I’m fucking curious.” Your energy flickered to life, but it was different than when you were on Earth. This time it felt raw and electric, a live wire zipping up and down your spine, setting your insides on fire. 

“You would do well not to speak to me like that in my house,” Odin warned you, his voice booming in the large room.

“Excuse me?” you ground out. “You can’t just tell me, Odin Borson, all-powerful, all-seeing, ruler of Asgard, to watch my language after I find out that you’re my grandfather.” 

Odin turned to you, confusion etched in his face. “How do you know that name?”

“It is not a secret, Father,” Thor added, his voice still heavy with betrayal. “Now, tell us of Hela.”

“Not now, not here,” Odin declared as he turned around with a flourish, walking out of the large room. 

Thor trailed after Odin, his footfalls heavy and determined. “Then tell us when, where.”

Bucky grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze. “Breathe, Y/N,” he instructed you gently, concern heavy on his tongue. “You need to calm down.”

“I’m fine,” you grunted, yanking your hand out of his and chasing the godly duo as they disappeared. You hated the way your heart clenched, mirroring Bucky’s, but you needed answers, and you needed them now.

You followed Odin and Thor into a hidden room, the golden-hued energy shimmering in the air around it. The magic was eons old, the strongest you’d ever felt. It was like static against your skin, mingling with your power, intensifying it. Hoping it would ease the burn of anxiety and the urge to harness your powers, you shook your hands at your sides and rolled your shoulders. 

“Tell us of Hela, Father,” Thor said once Bucky joined the group. 

Facing you, Odin sighed heavily before doing as his son requested. “As I said, shortly after our union, Frigga bore a child, a daughter. Hela was strong and fierce, and I knew she would become a great warrior, a worthy successor.”

Thor’s shoulders twitched and he stood taller. You knew he wanted to say something, could almost taste the bitter words on the end of your own tongue, but all he did was glare at Odin. 

“For many years she was by my side in battle. I had even begun preparing to step down from the throne,” he admitted softly. “And then, her violent appetites grew beyond my control. She became greedy and her hunger for blood grew, and I could not stop her, no matter how I tried.”

You were so close to finding out the truth that you were shaking. “Where do I come in during this?” 

“A short time after I imprisoned her, I received word that she was with child. I did not believe it at first as Hela had done many outlandish things in order to gain my attention. I would not have visited her if Heimdall had not confirmed the pregnancy.” 

Odin’s gaze dropped to the floor as he drew in a shuddering breath. “Hela was going to use the child,  _ you _ , against me. My own blood! She said that if I had ever loved her, I would release her, allow her to be a mother.”

You were almost afraid to ask, “What did you do?” 

“I could not release her. She was too dangerous, even to Asgard.” Odin’s voice was shaking. Was it shame or sorrow? “When she threatened to harm herself, we put her in a trance, and when you were born, we…  _ I _ sent you away.”

There were hot tears rolling down your cheeks. “Why? Why couldn’t I stay here? You could have protected me.”

“The power that holds Hela prisoner is connected to me, to my life force, and she draws her strength from Asgard. Once I am gone, she is free. Asgard will be the first place she comes to, and once she is here, her powers will be limitless.”

That news, over everything else, seemed to shock Thor. “What do you mean, once you are gone?”

“I am a god, my son. I am not immortal,” Odin deadpanned. 

“What about my father?” you asked before Thor could say anything further. 

“That was the one piece of information Hela never divulged.” 

You squeezed your eyes shut and groaned at the intense burning under your skin. “Fuck.”

Bucky’s hand was on your shoulder, calm, cool, driving away the white-hot rage that threatened to consume you. He didn’t say anything, mostly because he had no idea what to say. There were too many thoughts inside of his brain, clamoring for his attention, but he bit them back, held them at bay for a while. At least, until the two of you were alone and you were ready to talk about everything. 

Thor bristled and you felt the shift in the air, electricity sparked around him as his anger spiralled. “How could you keep this from us? Did Mother know?”

Odin’s confirmation to the latter question was given in the form of a nod. “I did what I had to do, Thor, for Asgard.” 

In the split-second before Thor moved to charge his father, you whirled around and set your hand on his heaving chest. Emerald-hued flames danced and curled around your fingers, forming a sphere in your palm. You were prepared to push the god back, to distance him from your grandfather. 

“Stand down, Thor,” you ordered your uncle, raw power simmering against your skin, inside your brain, pumping through your blood. “This is not the time.”

“She is right,” Odin noted. “Frigga is ill.”

Thor sneered at his father and brushed your hand away, though he had some difficulty doing so. “Tell us what you need, and we will get it.”

More tears clouded your eyes. Frigga. Your grandmother. You  _ desperately _ wanted to see her. As if reading your mind, Odin’s features softened. 

“Come, Y/N.” He held out his arm for you to take. “Thor and your companion can handle the task alone.”

The sight of Frigga left you breathless. She lay in the middle of the bed, golden hair in a braid on the plush pillow. Silken blankets in shades of canary, dandelion, and butterscotch covered her and seemingly miles of organza hung from the beams on the high ceiling, caging the queen in, as if to protect her. 

“It is her lungs,” Odin answered your silent question. 

You could hear the rattle of them with each of her breaths, the wet, sticky, ticking of whatever ailed her. 

“May I?” 

Odin pulled back the opaque organza, giving his wife a warm smile as he stroked her forehead. “My love, you have a visitor.”

Eyes the color of cornflower fluttered open, settling first on her husband, then you. A gasp caught in her throat as she sat up, a hand to her chest, and panic radiating off of her. 

“I am not Hela,” you assured her gently.

“No, no you are not,” she said wistfully. “You are her daughter. Oh, how I have longed to see you.” 

Sadness swept through you, clogging your throat, making it difficult to breathe. You were drowning in her mourning and it drove you to your knees. Despite being ill, she was on the floor, the caramel and cream silk of her gown pooling around her legs. Her slender fingers were on your face, cool and calm, just like Bucky’s. 

“Not a day has passed that I didn’t think of you, my darling child. What we did, I hope you understand -”

“I do,” you rasped, hands on her elbows. “For the safety of Asgard.”

“It sounds cruel when you say it that way,” Frigga lamented, brows furrowing. 

You gave a soft hum. “Am I upset? Damn right I am, but I can  _ feel _ that you didn’t send me away because you didn’t love me. You truly believed that what you were doing was right, that Asgard would be safer without me.”

“We have much to discuss,” Frigga noted before she started coughing. 

Panic and pain blossomed in your chest, mirroring that of your grandmother’s. She hunched over, a hand covering her mouth, the other on your shoulder, nails digging into your skin as each cough tore through her. WIth tears streaming down your face, you pressed your hand to her chest and closed your eyes. 

You focused on her lungs, on the syrupy liquid pooling there, on the prickly bits stuck to the tissue. Drawing deep from the well of your power, you imagined as if you were plucking out the bits with your fingers, crushing them into nothingness, one by one, until nothing remained. 

Frigga’s coughing lessened slightly, but it rattled, her shoulders shaking with the effort. Imagining your hand was a cup, you scooped out the thick liquid, black tar, poison, and dropped it onto your lap. You kept scooping, working until there was nothing left, not even a smear of it against the pink tissue. 

When you opened your eyes, Odin dropped to his knees and clutched his wife, disbelief etched into his features. “How did you do that?”

Shrugging, you looked down at your hand, black and tacky. “I don’t know.” 


	9. Chapter 9

You were standing outside, an indigo, magenta, and marigold painted sky swirling above you. The bifrost, the shimmering rainbow of it, was almost hypnotic. Your vision blurred and focused over and over again as you stared at it, your thoughts racing, your emotions reeling. 

“You healed her?” Bucky stared at you, eyes wide, unblinking. “How is that possible?”

Although your hands had been cleaned, stripped of the poisonous tar, you brushed your fingers against your pants. You could still  _ feel _ it, in the creases of your fingertips, under your nails. 

“I don’t know,” you said for what felt like the hundredth time. “I closed my eyes and pictured it. Next thing I knew, whatever was poisoning Frigga was on my lap.” 

“Do they know what it was, or who did it?”

You shook your head. “Odin has an idea, but he didn’t want to talk about it.”

Bucky gripped your shoulders and peered into your eyes. “Are you okay?”

You shrugged and stepped into his arms, sighing as the raging fire of confusion began to ebb under his touch. “I don’t know, Buck. I’ve been trying to find out who I am for over a millennia, and now that I know…” 

Bucky’s lips were on your forehead as your voice trailed off. “It’s okay to feel overwhelmed,” he assured you. “It’s also perfectly fine to feel at peace about it. You’ve been angry for so long.” What he said wasn’t accusatory, he was just stating a fact. 

“You’re right,” you sighed, tipping your head back to look up at him. “It is peace that I feel. It’s strange.” 

His smile was warm, finger tracing your jaw, curling under your chin. “It’ll take some getting used to.”

“Speaking from experience, soldier?” 

“Yeah,” Bucky hummed low in his throat. “So, now that you’ve found your family, what are you going to do?” You could hear the tension in his voice, the anxiety that you were going to leave Earth, leave  _ him _ . 

“Would it be so bad if I stayed here for a bit? I wouldn’t be gone forever.” 

His pupils flexed and his jaw tensed. “How do you know that? You’re the granddaughter of a god, the daughter of Death herself, Y/N. This is your home. You can’t  _ know _ that you would never leave.” 

“If it meant losing you, you bet your ass I wouldn’t stay,” you vowed darkly, eyes swimming in tears. 

A shuddering breath left him as he pressed his forehead to yours. “I’m sorry, doll. I just… I feel like I’m going to lose you now that you know  _ who _ you are.”

“Baby,” you sighed, smearing your lips against his. “You ain’t ever gonna lose me.”

His hand was on the back of your head, fingers tangling in your hair as he kissed you, deep, probing, thorough. You jumped up, his hand under your thigh, and wrapped your legs around his waist, tugging on his hair as he walked into the room, to the massive bed. He couldn’t wait any longer, he ripped the clothes from your body, growling when you returned the favor. 

Your mouth watered at the sight of his cock, thick and long, slightly curved at the end, the head blush and seeping. Before you knew what you were doing, you dropped to your knees and wrapped your hand around the base of his cock, his dark hairs tickling you. You pressed your tongue to the underside of his cock, breathing him in as you licked him, feeling the swell of the vein on your tongue until you reached the tip. Your eyes fluttered closed as the bittersweet drops of pre-cum landed on your tongue.

Bucky’s mouth fell open and his head lolled back, hips jerking when you wrapped your lips around him, twirling your tongue around and around, flicking it back and forth through the slit. His hands tangled in your hair, tighter and tighter with every bob of your head, with every inch of him that you sucked deep into your mouth, hitting the back of your throat. Sinful moans were falling from his lips as you took him deeper, swallowing around him, his dark curls tickling your nose. You would have been content to swallow his cum, feel the sticky heat of it slide down your throat, but he had other things on his mind.

You were off your knees and Bucky was looking at you with hooded lids, a breathy curse falling from his lips before kissing you. Holding you firm to his chest, he pulled you off the floor and laid you on the bed, draping his body over yours. Trapped between your bodies, his cock was hot, pulsing. You rolled your hips up, swallowing his moan and sucking on his tongue.

“Jesus, doll,” he rasped. 

He marked you with his beard and teeth, biting and sucking dark marks until you hissed. Sitting back on his knees, Bucky’s fingers dragged along your body, twisting, pinching, pulling, goosebumps jumping to life under his touch. You grew self-conscious under his gaze, blushing and averting your eyes, hands twitching to cover yourself. 

Bucky shook his head, saying, “You’re beautiful, sweetheart, so fuckin’ beautiful.” His voice was more a ragged whisper than anything, and a strange sense of self-acceptance washed through you, hushing the small voices of doubt in your mind.

He was kissing you, sucking your bottom lip between his, nipping at the plump flesh before sweeping his tongue over it, running his fingers through your hair, pushing your legs further apart with his thighs. Your heart was hammering, pushing blood faster through your veins, thundering in your ears like a waterfall. The base of Bucky’s cock was pressed against your engorged clit as you rutted against one another. Your pussy tightened painfully, desperately seeking out his cock.

With your nails at the small of his back, you whined, “Need you to fuck me, Barnes.”

Bucky’s moan was ragged, making his shoulders shudder. He licked his lips hungrily, watching as you wrapped your hand around his cock, running your fingernails along the pulsing thick vein, relishing in the ebb and flow of blood beneath your touch. He was so thick and hard, like a layer of skin atop a rock. It was when you stroked him, squeezing his cock-head between your thumb and forefinger, that he growled.

He was on you in a flash, kissing you hungrily, a hand on the base of his cock, sweeping the swollen head through your slick folds. He bit your lower lip as he pushed in slowly, his hips shaking as he fought for control. All he wanted to do, all you wanted him to do, was fill you so completely you couldn’t breathe. But he took his time, and god dammit, you almost came from the lazy drag of his twitching cock.

Hot air blasted on your chest as Bucky looked between your bodies and watched as he disappeared, as your body took him in, until all he could see was his dark curls tangled with yours. Your breath caught in your throat as he stretched you, not stopping until his pelvis bit into yours. Neither of you moved for a moment, you just lay there, senses in hyperdrive. Every twitch made one of you gasp or moan, every brush of skin made goosebumps flare to life. And just when you thought you couldn’t take anymore, Bucky pulled back, just as slow as when he filled you, stopping only when the tip remained.

With a guttural sound, he snapped his hips, driving the air from your lungs with a grunt, sending an echo of wet skin through the room. He used his thighs to open your legs wider, giving him a new angle to make you cry out. And cry out you did. Your back arched and air was tearing in and out of your throat. Bucky’s mouth was on your shoulder, biting, kissing, sucking, raggedly whispering how, “fucking amazing you feel. So fucking tight and wet, doll.” And then an sinful moan of your name would fall from his lips.

Bucky slid a hand under your arched back and hooked it on your shoulder, digging his fingers deep into the skin and muscles with every snap of his hips. You were meeting his thrusts, nails cutting into his shoulder blades, lower back, and ass as the coil tightened and the pleasurable white-hot burn began to spread out from your belly. His hips started to stutter and both your already ragged breathing became sharper, echoing the wet, sucking sounds of sex.

With his forehead on your shoulder and his bowing with every thrust, Bucky slid a hand between your sweat-slicked bodies and pressed his two middle fingers against your clit. Static exploded in your head and black dots swarmed in your eyes as you came. You pulsed around him, the intensity of the orgasm stealing the air from your lungs. Bucky’s mantra of “fuck, baby girl,” was harsh on your neck as his own release overtook him.

He laid there, between your shaking legs, propped up on his elbows, and kissed you languidly as you drug your fingers over the wide span of his shoulders. It was only when he had gone soft that Bucky pulled out, each of you hissing in a mixture of arousal and over-sensitive skin. Despite the sweat slicking your skin, you curled against his side. 

“You should stay,” Bucky murmured, fingers threading through your hair. “Get to know your family, see where you come from.”

Your heart stuttered in your chest, and you knew he felt it by his sharp intake of breath. “I really want to.”

“Then do it, doll.” He curled a finger under your chin and drew you up for a kiss. “Stay.”

“What about you?” Your voice was a harsh whisper.

Bucky shrugged. “I’ll go back to Earth, hang around at the compound, and wait for my girl.”

“You’re sure?” 

“Positive.” 

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

You were running down the length of the bifrost as fast as you could, faster than you ever thought possible, and it still wasn’t fast enough. Odin was dead and Hela was coming. 

Some would think it would be cause for celebration when finding out one’s mother was coming after a couple hundred lifetimes of being apart, but not you. Not when your mother wanted nothing more than to rule the galaxies and destroy those that stood in her path. 

Heimdall was shouting, “Come, child. I will get you passage to -”

An explosion rocked the shimmering ground beneath your feet and sent you flying into the crystal waters below. Shit. It was too late. Hela was in Asgard. 


	10. Chapter 10

**ONE MONTH AGO**

The ceremony for Frigga was breathtakingly beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. She was laid to rest in an ornately carved boat, surrounded by the most colorful and fragrant flowers of Asgard. A golden crown rested upon her head, secured by intricate braids. Her gown was emerald and gold, the setting sun and the flames that consumed her reflected on its beading as the boat carrying her to Valhalla drifted away. 

Odin, already so much weaker without his wife, consoled you as you cried. You could feel the weight of his mourning, of Thor’s morning. Hell, you could feel the mourning of everyone in Asgard, and it was crushing you. 

As Frigga’s boat floated off the edge of Asgard, Thor took you in his arms. “Come, you need to rest.” 

You didn’t argue with the god. Rather, you curled against his chest and wept. Frigga was dead and you should have been able to save her. If only you had gotten to the room two seconds earlier, you could have stopped the dark elf before he pierced your grandmother’s heart. 

Now, that wasn’t to say you didn’t avenge her. The dark elf that killed her burst into flames the second you had seen what he had done. 

It was a week after the funeral when Thor approached you.

“I am worried about my father,” he admitted gruffly. “He has not been the same since -”

“Frigga,” you finished for him. You rubbed a hand against the back of your neck. “I feel it, Thor. He doesn’t know what to do without her. He is… Thor, your father is dying.”

Stormy eyes met yours. “What do you mean?”

“On Earth, it’s called broken heart syndrome. It happens a lot with older mortal couples,” you informed him. “When one dies, the other simply doesn’t know how to go on.”

“My father is no mortal,” Thor scoffed.

“You think I don’t know that?” you sighed. “Mortal or not, the same rules apply. He lost the love of his life, Thor. He’s heartbroken.”

Thor’s eyes fell shut and his shoulders sagged. “How much time?”

“Not long,” you answered honestly. “That means we need to prepare.”

“Hela,” he growled, electricity thickening the air around you. “I’ll kill her with my bare hands.” 

The harsh words would have surprised you if you were anything other than the granddaughter of a god and the daughter of Death. But since finding out the truth about Hela, you weren’t exactly going to welcome her with open arms. 

“Not if I get to her first.”

“No,” he argued, determination set in his jaw and shoulders. “You are not to be here. I am sending you to Midgard.”

Your laugh was bitter and sharp. “You really think I’m going to sit back and let you -”

“Kill your mother?” Thor’s voice boomed like thunder in the hall. “By the gods, Y/N. You will do what I -”

“I won’t,” you shot back, tears filling your eyes. “I can’t, Thor. I need to be here. Please don’t send me away. Not now.”

The lightning in Thor’s eyes dissipated as his features softened. “Okay, niece. Not now.”

**PRESENT**

You were running down the length of the bifrost as fast as you could, faster than you ever thought possible, and it still wasn’t fast enough. Odin was dead and Hela was coming. 

Some would think it would be cause for celebration when finding out one’s mother was coming after a couple hundred lifetimes of being apart, but not you. Not when your mother wanted nothing more than to rule the nine realms and destroy those that stood in her path. 

Heimdall was shouting, “Come, child. I will get you passage to -”

An explosion rocked the shimmering ground beneath your feet and sent you flying into the crystal waters below. Shit. It was too late. Hela was in Asgard. 

“Bitch doesn’t waste any time, does she?” you muttered after surfacing. 

“There is still time,” Heimdall called down, the flames reflecting in his golden armor. 

You propelled yourself out of the water and landed on the bifrost. “No. I’m staying.”

“Thor said -”

“Fuck what Thor said,” you snarled. “If he thinks I’m leaving now, he’s got -”

Another explosion, this time closer to the bifrost. Hela was not amused with the people of Asgard’s refusal to bow down and pledge their allegiance. You and Heimdall shared a look of both rage and fear before a silent decision was made. Heimdall, with Hofund, the key to the bifrost, in his grip, joined you as you sprinted back toward Asgard, a primal scream tearing out you. 

You expected to come face-to-face with those that  _ had _ pledged their allegiance, not with Hela herself. She stepped out of the pitch smoke, her hands engulfed in green flames, and her obsidian hair pulled back, twisted into weapons. 

“My child,” she gasped, genuine surprise rolling off of her in waves. “You live.”

You threw black blades at her, screaming, using every ounce of wrath inside of you. With a wave of her hand, the blades whizzed past her head. 

“I take it you have spoken to Father,” Hela purred in an annoyed tone. “Twisted everything around, did he?” 

Heimdall bore down on her, blade aimed at her heart. She waited until the last second, just as the blade was about to pierce her armor, giving him the smallest glimmer of hope, before sending him somersaulting through the air. 

“Tell me, daughter,” she sneered, using her power to grip you around the waist, arms pinned to your side. “In any of Odin’s grand speeches, did he tell you the  _ truth _ about Asgard?”

You struggled in her grip, trying, and failing, to harness your power. 

Hela laughed, rich and unnerving. “Proud to have it, ashamed of how he got it. We were unstoppable. I was his weapon in the conquest that built Asgard's empire. One by one, the realms became ours. But then, simply because my ambition outgrew his, he banished me, caged me, locked me away like an animal. Before that, Asgard's warriors were honored, their bodies buried as heroes beneath this very palace."

“You’re insane,” you gasped, her grip tightening. 

“We were once the seat of absolute power in the cosmos. Our supremacy was unchallenged. Yet, Odin stopped at Nine Realms,” she continued as if you hadn’t said a word. “My destiny…  _ our _ destiny is to rule over all others. And I am here to restore that power. Kneel before me and rise into the ranks of my great conquest."

“I would rather die,” you snarled. 

Hela smiled and you could feel the pride radiating off of her. “You think I would kill you, my own flesh and blood? He took  _ you _ from me, my child, my  _ blood _ . Why are you not angry with him?”

Something from the corner of your eye caught your attention. It was Thor, or Mjolnir, probably both. It didn’t matter how fast they were flying through the air, they were still a great distance away. You needed to buy a little bit more time. 

You stopped fighting against her grip and forced yourself to calm down. “From what I hear, you have already killed flesh and blood. What’s stopping you now?”

“You are my child.” Surprise flickered in her eyes. “I have missed you.”

“If you missed me, let me go,” you requested. “Holding me hostage like this isn’t getting you any brownie points.”

Hela’s head cocked to the side as she thought about it, her eyes narrowed, mouth tight. When the invisible grip around your middle eased, you sucked in a heaving breath and landed on the bifrost with an almost-silent  _ thud _ .

“Better?” she asked warily. 

Mjolnir whistled through the air and crashed into Hela, sending her flying. 

“Much,” you chuckled, a wave of black knives erupting from your hands. You sent them in the direction Hela had gone, praying they would hit their mark.

Thor landed next to you, his empty hand extended. “I thought I told you to leave.”

“And miss all the fun? Hey, what happened to your eye?” 

“She stabbed me,” was his only explanation. 

Your sympathetic smile faltered as Hela flew toward you, a murderous scream filling the air, and helfire burning in her eyes. 

She crashed into you and the two of you slid along the bifrost, each grappling for the upper hand. Thor gave chase, Mjolnir gripped tight and a thunderous battle cry filling the air. Using the heel of her boot, Hela shoved you away from her as lightning gathered around Thor and Mjolnir. The intensity and pressure grew until you were sure you were going blind, and then, with a deafening  _ crack _ , Thor unleashed his power. 

He helped you up and gripped your shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” you answered. “But I don’t think we will be.”

The smoke was beginning to clear to reveal Hela, standing there as if the nothing had happened, a grin on her face. “Is that all?”

“Shit,” you ground out. “Do you have any other ideas?”

“There’s only one, but it is crazy.” 

“Crazy’s all we got right now, Thor.” 

The anxiety bubbling in his chest was choking you. “Ragnarök.” He had confided in you the visions he had been having, of Asgard burning to the ground, all at the hands of a fiery demon he had vanquished. Never did he imagine that he would be the one to unleash hel upon his home. 

“Jesus,” you gasped. “That  _ is _ crazy.” 

“Like you said, niece. Crazy is all we have.”

“Tell me what to do,” you said impatiently. Hela wasn’t going to stand there all day while the two of you formulated a plan.

He shook his head. “I will go. You are going back to -”

“Fuck you, Thor,” you screamed. “I am not leaving. Heimdall is  _ down _ , and I can help.” 

Hela was laughing in a way that made your stomach twist. “Look at you, strategizing like you have a chance in Hel.” 

“You need to unite Surtur’s crown with the Eternal Flame that burns in Odin's vault,” Thor instructed you gruffly. “Once that is done, get the hel out of there. Go, now!” He spun Mjolnir in his hand as you tore off. 

Hela may have been blocking your path, but she was distracted by the white-hot lightning that crackled down upon her. Her hand shot out as you ran past, nails snagging the crimson and gold tunic you were wearing. 

You resisted the urge to look over your shoulder, to make sure Thor was holding his own, as you ran to the castle, through the throngs of people that were crying, begging for help. Tears streamed down your face as you ignored them, running into the castle, down the halls, and into Odin’s vault. 

The crown wasn’t difficult to find amidst all the other trinkets and treasures Odin harbored. One thing did catch your eye on your way by, a shimmering, icy cube. Its power hummed against your skin as you reached out to touch it. It was  _ smooth _ under your touch, calming,  _ powerful _ . You were drawn to it, drawn to do the unthinkable. Without a second thought, you palmed it and shoved it into your pocket, briefly amazed at how it shrank down to fit. 

Aha! The crown. With your molars grinding, you ripped the crown off its pedestal and shoved it into the Eternal Flame. At first, nothing happened, and your heart sank at the thought you had failed. You were prepared to launch yourself out of the vault and back into the fray when it happened. 

The entire planet  _ shifted _ as something moved deep,  _ deep _ within Asgard. 


	11. Chapter 11

Heimdall crawled onto the shore. Gone was his golden armor, though he had managed to keep hold of his sword, the key to the bifrost. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, whoever possessed it would have access to every one of the nine realms. He would die before that happened. 

As he stood, he caught sight of Thor fighting with Hela, and Thor was not prevailing. The people of Asgard needed protecting, they needed safe passage off the planet, and the bifrost would not be the path they took. He headed to the heart of the city, gathering people on his way, instructing them where to meet. 

There was a ship, large enough to ferry the Asgardians someplace safe. The only problem was its location. It was near the bifrost, barely out of the way of the current fight. The people were scared, understandably so, but as it appeared that Hela was winning, it was the only choice. 

The entire planet  _ shifted _ as something moved deep,  _ deep _ within Asgard. Your heart was hammering in your throat, choking you with fear and adrenaline. Dust sifted through the air when it happened again, and you  _ knew _ you had to get out of there. You ran as fast as you could, legs and arms pumping, hair whipping behind you, and just as you emerged into the sunlight, a guttural growl ripped through the air. 

An area to the right of you exploded as what you assumed to be Surtur burst forth from the center of the planet. He howled in rage, flames scorching everything he touched. Rubble rained down, blocked only by a shield of emerald green that erupted from your hands. 

You ran back toward the bifrost, mouth going dry at the sight of Hela, her hand on the business end of Mjolnir. The hammer shimmied in her grip and you could  _ feel _ the power emanating off of the woman who gave birth to you. You knew what she was going to do, and it made tears fill your eyes. 

“No, don’t,” you screamed out. “Don’t do it.”

Hela’s eyes met yours and, with a wicked smirk, crushed Mjolnir into pieces. 

Thor dropped to his knees at the same time that you screamed. You surged forward, fueled by a hatred you had never felt before. Green flames erupted from your hands and shot out, slamming into Hela. She fell back and slid along the bifrost, crying out in agony. But you didn’t stop, you couldn’t. You wanted to rip her apart at the seams, bit by bit, until there was nothing left. It was dark and scary, and by the gods, it felt  _ amazing _ . With a scream, you launched her into the air and straight toward Surtur. 

“Come,” Heimdall called. He was hanging out the side of an a ship, hand extended, the people of Asgard cowering behind him. “We must go.” 

Thor was hunched over, bits of Mjolnir in his hands. “No, no,” he murmured. “It cannot be.”

You ran over to him, every inch of you shaking, and gripped his shoulder. “We have to go.” 

The god’s shoulders were shuddering and he was shaking his head. “What of Asgard?”

“Asgard is lost,” you snapped, forcing him to look up at the war waging between Surtur and Hela. “And if we do not leave now, so are we.”

Thor ground his teeth and you felt him barely resist the urge to push you away, to put you onto the vessel, and die in a blaze of glory along with Asgard, but then a memory of Frigga flashed through his mind. His shoulders dropped as he stood tall, the pieces of Mjolnir falling to his feet. 

“Hurry,” Heimdall urged, eyes wide. 

You rushed to the vessel and jumped, Thor immediately behind you, right as the bifrost exploded. Heimdall caught you, a thick arm around your waist as he turned his back to the opening, saving you from any bifrost shrapnel that may have made its way on board. The doors hissed shut as the vessel pulled away. You, Thor, Heimdall, and hundreds of other Asgardians hurried to an area where everyone watched as the only home they had ever known exploded. 

After knocking, you pushed open the door to the room Thor had been pacing in the for the last several days. He had cut his hair, clipped it close to his head, and there was a dark patch over his right eye. He looked  _ so _ different than he had several days ago, older, sadder, angrier. Loss does that to a person. 

“I’m sorry about Mjolnir,” you said sadly. 

Thor grunted, but kept pacing. 

“What do we do now?” you asked. Your throat was tight, clogged with the  _ heavy _ emotions on board. 

“I do not know,” he ground out, sparks dancing along his knuckles. 

You pulled in a shuddering breath before trying again. “Thor, what do we do now?” 

Blue eyes with lightning flickering inside drilled into you. “I do not know! Leave me be, niece.”

“No,” you shouted. “You… you’re the only family I have left.” 

Thor screwed his eyes shut, his chin quivering when he started crying. “I know. I… I am sorry.” 

You lunged at him and hugged him tight as you cried. He held you, hand on the back of your head as the pair of you mourned the loss of Odin and Asgard. When the weight of loss wasn’t  _ as _ heavy, you remembered something Odin had said before he died. 

“Asgard isn’t a place, it’s a people,” you mumbled, slipping from Thor’s grip. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Odin, he said it before he died,” you said, a smile tugging at your lips. “Asgard isn’t a place, it’s a people. We can go  _ anywhere _ and start over!” 

Thor’s eyes lit up, if only the slightest. “Where do you suggest?”

“There’s always Earth,” was your idea. “Sweden or Norway, maybe even Finland.” 

“And these places, this Finland,” he mused, “they are like Asgard?”

“I mean, I can’t say for certain since I was only there for a few months, but, come on, Thor, it’s worth a shot, right?” You tried to keep the excitement that was bubbling in your chest from spilling out. You didn’t want to get ahead of yourself. 

He ran a hand through his much shorter hair. “Yes, let us try. And then, we can get you back to Bucky. I know you miss him.”

Your heart stuttered in your chest at the sound of his name. “I do miss him, and Wanda. Hell, I even miss Steve.” 

“Come,” Thor instructed with a laugh, holding open the door. “Let us tell Heimdall.” 

The two of you had just entered the cockpit when a gigantic shadow enveloped the ship. Your stomach dropped as you peered out the window, taking in the monstrosity of a ship as it grew closer. 

“What the fuck is that?” you finally asked, a shaking hand raised. 

Thor gripped your other hand, but said nothing as he was shocked into silence. 

“Heimdall?!” you squeaked. The stench of confusion and fear radiating from the two men was overwhelming. 

“They are not here to help. They mean us harm,” he answered through gritted teeth. “We need to get out of here.” 

“Are you kidding?” Thor snapped. “We will not make it.” He took off running, gods knew where, leaving you and Heimdall to stare in awe at the sheer size of the ship. 

It took several seconds before you realized where he was going. “Son of a bitch.” You picked up your skirts and gave chase, sliding to a stop at the only point of entry. “What are you gonna do, Thor? You don’t have Mjolnir.”

“He has us,” Heimdall assured you, blade in hand. 

“Damn right he does.” Your powers flared to life, enveloping your hands in emerald flames. 

Thor chuckled low in his throat, his hands balled into fists at his side. “For Asgard.”

The remaining citizens of Asgard scurried out of the way, hiding on the other end of the ship, barricading the doors as best they could. They had no weapons and no training. The only thing that stood between them and whatever lie on the other side of that door was you, Thor, and Heimdall. 

The ship shifted, the metal groaning in protest as a boarding device clamped onto it. There was a set of shrill beeps as the system was hacked, and a second later, the doors hissed as they opened. 

“Steady,” Thor murmured. “Steady.”

You swallowed around the knot in your throat as Heimdall shifted behind you. 

The door opened further, revealing three sets of legs, most likely warriors. You were  _ itching _ to send them flying, so when Thor gave the command, you unleashed your power with a scream. Thor lunged through the door and started beating up on two guys you hadn’t even seen. Then Heimdall went, sword slicing through the air, onto the other ship. With a flick of your wrists, you stopped the blast of energy, turning it into a multitude of blades. 

Someone, not Thor, and definitely not Heimdall, stepped onto the ship. They were… grey and slimy. His eyes were white, sunken into a noseless face, and wispy white hair covered the back of his head. He was the things nightmares were made of and you couldn’t stop the shudder that rolled through you.

“Hear me, and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan,” the slimy squid looking guy said. 

“Fuck that,” you snarled, hurling the blades at him. 

With a flick of his wrist, the blades literally disappeared before your very eyes. He snapped his fingers and you were flying back into a steel wall that your head bounced off of. Black dots swarmed your vision and the blood on your tongue was thick and bitter. 

“You do not have permission to board this vessel,” you rasped. “Our crew is made up of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here. This is not a warcraft.”

“Yet, you attacked us,” he pointed out. He motioned to someone behind him, giving them the signal to search the rest of the ship. 

“No,” you screamed, fighting against the force pinning you to the wall. Your power flickered against your hands and chest, but it was no use. He was  _ much _ stronger than you. 

A multitude of screams broke out, dotting your skin with goosebumps. Blasters cut through the screams, silencing them one at a time until the only thing you could hear was the blood roaring in your ears. 

“Please, I’m begging you,” you cried out, a cold sweat breaking out on your skin.

He sneered, but the way he looked at you, as if he knew you, made the atmosphere shift. “Beg all you want, child. It is futile.” 

Several Asgardians hurried past, bloodied and crying. They stopped suddenly as the same force that was holding you slammed into them, tearing them in half. A sob tore its way out of you, one that made the grey creature snarl. 

At his will, you moved from the wall and floated through the air, toward the slaughtered Asgardians. There was movement behind you, but you couldn’t turn your head to see what was causing it. The grey creature whose name you still didn’t know stepped over the bodies.

“You may think this is suffering... No. it is salvation. Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile…”

One of the soldiers stabbed one of the Asgardians that was somehow clinging to life. 

“For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos.”

You were spun in the air and released, landing painfully on your hands and knees. Blood spilled from your mouth as you coughed. When you looked up, there was a literal giant standing there,  _ wide _ shoulders, muscles that made Thor look puny, and he was purple. 

“I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right... yet to fail, nonetheless,” he lamented. 

Thor was lying on the ground by who you suspected was Thanos, beaten almost beyond recognition. The god of thunder groaned, blood bubbling out of his nose and between his lips. Thanos bent over and lifted Thor by the neck of his breastplate. You wanted to run to him, to rip him out of Thanos’ grip, to make sure he was okay, but you were rooted to floor by dread. 

“It's frightening,” he continued. “Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say... I  _ am _ .” He held up his hand, showing off a glimmering gold gauntlet. 

Thor, who was now being held by one of Thanos’ large hand around his head, had blood oozing out of his mouth. “You talk too much.”

“The Tessaract,” Thanos demanded calmly. “Or her head. I assume you have a preference.”

You swallowed heavily as the blue cube you had previously stolen felt as if it grew hundreds of pounds heavier in your pocket. You hadn’t known the name of it, but you  _ knew _ it was what Thanos wanted. 

When Thor didn’t answer, Thanos pressed the gauntlet to his temple. The one purple stone began to glow bright and Thor started screaming. 

You stood abruptly on shaking legs. “All right, stop,” you screamed. 

“We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard,” Thor informed Thanos, his voice shattered. 

With your chin quivering, you looked at your uncle. Reaching into your pocket, you removed the icy cube and held it up for Thanos to see. A broken and betrayed cry of your name burst out of Thor. 

“The sun will shine one us again, Thor,” you assured him. 

“Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian,” Thanos chided you. 

“Well, for one thing, I’m not completely Asgardian. And for another,” your voice trailed off as you harnessed your power, sending a broken piece of the ship directly at Thanos. 

You dove for Thor as he hit the ground, pulling him out of harm’s way while the Tessaract skittered across the floor. Thanos let out a roar of frustration before picking you up and throwing you toward the wall of the ship. When you hit the wall, it was soft, like a mattress. 

_ Thank you, powers. _

Thanos charged you once your feet were on the ground. You turned the green flames into a giant metal bar and swung it at his stomach. The bar crumpled at the impact and was ripped out of your hands. Thor made a feeble move to intervene, but he was bound to the deck by scraps of metal, all with the flick of the grey one’s hand. 

“That was a mistake,” Thanos let you know. He gripped the back of your head and threw you across the ship. You landed close to Thor, whimpering as pain erupted throughout your body.

“My humble personage,” the grey one knelt before Thanos, offering up the Tessaract, “bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp.”

With a proud sneer, Thanos crushed the Tessaract, revealing a shining blue stone. After blowing some of the shimmering dust away and examining it closely, he placed it in the gauntlet and was rocketed by the surge of energy that pulsed as the stone shifted in its setting. 

His voice was thicker, more powerful when he said, “There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan.”

One of his children, a woman, as far as you could tell, knelt before Thanos. “Father, we will not fail you.” She, and another, disappeared before your very eyes. 

Wiping a hand across your bloodied mouth, you stood and squared your shoulders. “If you think you’re going to Earth, you’re gravely mistaken.”

“You think you are going to stop me?” Thanos chuckled. 

“I, Y/N, Princess of Asgard,” you looked over your shoulder at Thor and gave him a small smile, “daughter of the goddess of Death, will do whatever it takes to stop you.” A black dagger formed in your hand as you lunged at Thanos. 

Just as the blade was about to pierce his skin, you were frozen, the blue stone in the gauntlet shining as Thanos harnessed its power. Thanos twisted the dagger from your hand and grabbed your neck with the gauntlet, lifting you from the ground. 

“What did you say?” Thanos demanded to know. "You are the daughter of Hela?"

You clawed at the gauntlet as you struggled to breathe. Did he seriously think you could answer him?

“You are the true child of Thanos,” the grey one said, shocked, in awe. 

You fell to the ground, crying out as a piece of metal pierced  _ deep _ into your side. 

“It cannot be,” Thanos gasped, staggering back a step. “I have a child.”

Just as the metal bindings holding Thor stationary fell away, Thanos raised the gauntlet, bathing the ship with a bright violet light, transporting you, himself, the grey one, and the other soldiers back to his ship. Less than a minute later, your stomach dropped as the ship you escaped Asgard on exploded. 


	12. Chapter 12

Thanos stood in the back of the room, obscured by shadows, as he watched Ebony work. First, on the girl, patching up the wound in her side. Then, on something that would ensure Thanos’ safety while around her. 

His mind had been whirling since the name of his ex-lover had been mentioned; Hela. He hadn’t seen her in over three thousand years. In that time, he had worked to turn his feelings of adoration into something cold and detached, closer akin to hatred. 

Because he had been foolish to fall in love, his plan to rule the nine realms had been shattered. She vowed she would go with him, to help him, to rule by his side, but when the time came, Hela never showed. Thanos had been so  _ hurt _ and  _ angry,  _ but it was only fuel dumped on the raging inferno of  _ mercy _ he had in store for the nine realms. 

Three thousand years, that was how long it had taken him to get  _ one  _ Infinity Stone.  _ Three thousand years _ . He had razed planets, leaving behind nothing but death and destruction. He had amassed dedicated followers that did his bidding without batting an eye. And then, in the blink of an eye, his world tipped on its axis. 

_ “I am the daughter of the goddess of Death.” _

Could it be? Was this spitfire, near identical image to Hela, his child? 

Ebony was staring at him, hands clasped in front of his chest. “It is done.”

Thanos emerged from the shadows and traced a finger over the amulet that he had been planning on giving to Hela. “It has bound her powers?”

“Yes,” Ebony answered with a tip of his head. 

“What about -”

“She is your blood.” Ebony was wearing a sick and proud smile. “She  _ is _ the true child of Thanos.”

Wanda sat up in bed and screamed, the sound of it raw and primal, making her throat hurt. She was drenched in sweat and her red-hued hands were balled into fists in her lap. 

Vision, who never slept,  _ ever _ , had been resting by her side. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Wanda, wake up.” 

Her eyes were wide open but unseeing of anything other than the flames that destroyed Asgard. Images of her best friend and Thor, beaten and bloodied, fighting for their lives, flashed in her mind, and the sounds of  _ many _ deaths echoed in her ears. She had to do  _ something _ , she had to save them. 

Vision shook her a bit forcefully. “Wake up.” 

Steve ran into the room, hair messy from sleep, the shield on his arm. “What’s going on?”

“I do not know. She is asleep,” Vision informed Steve. 

Balls of red energy were growing larger in Wanda’s palms, seeping through her fingers, and it scared Steve. He had seen her in action, when she had been cornered. He had a right to be unnerved. 

“Wake her up,” he demanded. 

“I am trying,” Vision answered, shaking the shoulders of the woman he loved. “Wanda, you  _ have _ to wake up.”

Wanda’s eyes were red as she witnessed the giant, the one they called Thanos, choke her friend before dropping her to the ground. Wanda cried out in empathetic agony as something pierced her skin, a hand flying to her side. There was a blinding purple light, and when Wanda saw the ship explode, she collapsed onto the bed, tears streaming down her face. 

“Does somebody want to tell me what’s going on?” Tony gruffed as he jogged into the room. 

“It’s Em,” Wanda rasped, sitting up with the assistance of Vision. “Something has happened.” 

“Cap, you better get Bucky,” Tony suggested. 

Less than five minutes later, Bucky, Steve, Tony, Nat, and Sam were gathered in the common room. All eyes were on Wanda as she shuffled over to the table and sat down. Vision took a seat next to her, a reassuring hand on her back.

“What happened?” Bucky wanted to know. God, it felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. 

“Asgard has been destroyed,” Wanda croaked, wiping a shaking hand over her face. 

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” Bucky gasped. “How is that even possible?”

Tony, already on the other side of the room, started up the computer and typed in the coordinates for Asgard. 

“Some of them managed to escape before it exploded, Thor and Em, included,” Wanda divulged. 

“Oh, thank God,” Bucky sighed heavily, his shoulders shaking.

“Where are they now?” Steve asked, slightly relieved, squeezing Bucky’s shoulder.

Wanda’s chin quivered as she looked at Steve. “Their ship was boarded and the people were slaughtered. Thor and Em fought back, but -“

“No,” Bucky argued, shoving away from the table. “She’s not dead.” 

“I saw the ship explode, Bucky,” Wanda choked. “And… I can’t… I can’t  _ feel _ her anymore.” 

Even millions of miles away, in another galaxy, in another realm, Wanda had always been able to feel her friend’s presence. Since their first interaction, the two of them had been bound in a way Wanda had never experienced before, not even with Pietro, her twin, her blood. Without Em’s presence, Wanda felt hollow.

Sam and Nat were standing next to Tony, watching as he manipulated the data, his fingers flying over the screen. 

“I’ll never get used to seeing him  _ do _ that,” Sam noted under his breath. 

“She can’t be dead, Stevie,” Bucky said through clenched teeth. “She just  _ can’t _ be.”

Steve wanted to assure his best friend that he was right, that the woman he loved wasn’t dead, but honestly, he couldn't. If what Wanda had seen was the truth, the last thing he could do was give Bucky false hope. 

“Got it,” Tony announced. He tapped the screen twice with his middle finger, expanding the video. 

The team huddled around the screen as it started to play. After the destruction of Asgard, Tony zoomed in on a ship and tracked it as it moved through space. The footage sped up at his urging, slowing down only when Tony’s eyes went wide at the sight of a monstrous ship approaching the much smaller vessel.

“What the fuck is that?” Nat rasped. 

“It’s Thanos,” Wanda supplied. Fear made her shake in Vision’s arms. 

Tony hit some keys, turning on the infrared, which wasn’t the best idea. The team witnessed the slaughtering of the Asgardians with a gasp. Having felt it,  _ seen _ it as if she were physically there, Wanda turned away and closed her eyes. 

“There, that’s Em,” Bucky pointed out, finger aimed at the form whose hands were heating up with raw power. 

She was fighting someone  _ much _ larger than she, and she was getting her ass beat. She was violently thrown down, picked up, and choked. The sight of it made Bucky’s blood boil. He was going to destroy whoever this Thanos guy was if it was the last thing he did. 

Moments after she was released, a bright light lit up the screen, and then, without warning, the smaller vessel exploded. 

“Hold on a sec,” Tony murmured, eyes narrowed, fingers working, reversing the footage. 

“What did you find, Tone?” Natasha wondered, a hand on the back of her neck. 

“I can’t say for sure, but…” his voice trailed off as the footage played. He slowed it down and watched closely as each frame ticked by, right up until the explosion. He played it again, and again, until he found what he was searching for.

“There,” he announced. “There were ten heat signatures before the flash of light, right? After, there’s only one, and it’s not anyone that was close to Em.”

“What are you saying?” Bucky demanded through his teeth. 

“I’m saying she wasn’t on the ship when it exploded.”

“Who was?” Steve asked. “Was it Thor?”

Tony shrugged and gave Steve a sympathetic look. “I don’t know, Cap.” 

_ You followed Frigga through the field of thigh-high flowers. Crimson and honey. Persian and emerald. Boysenberry and tangerine. Fragrant, lush, breathtaking. The plants skimmed along your palms, tickling your skin, making you smile. The sun was high, beaming down on you, bathing you in its warmth. It was different than being on Earth. Brighter. Stunning. Captivating.  _

_ Frigga stopped in front of a tree. It was wider than Stark tower and taller than you could even see. “I planted it the day you were born,” she noted sadly, eyes shining with tears. “After… I came out here every day and prayed to the gods for your safety.”  _

_ You took her hand in yours, humming as her forlornness washed over you. “I don’t fault you or Odin for the decision you made.” _

_ “You may not,” she said with a weary smile. “But I do. If we had not made that decision, you would have -” _

_ “Not become the person I am today, Frigga, and honestly, I love who I am,” you assured her. “You and Odin did what you thought was best. Sure, it meant that I grew up feeling rejected and unloved, but… I don’t feel that way now. I have Bucky, and now, I have you, Odin, and Thor. I have exactly what I have spent my entire life wanting.”  _

_ Frigga squeezed your hand and you felt the tingling of her powers dance along your skin. “Come, show me what you can do.” _

The room you woke up in was cold and dark, it smelled musty and made your stomach roll. You definitely weren’t in Asgard. 

_ Asgard! _ You jerked up, barely biting back a howl as pain exploded in your side. With a tender touch to your side, you found a row of stitches holding your skin together, keeping your insides right where they belonged. 

Thor, you had to find him. There was no way he was on the ship when it exploded. He couldn’t have been. Thanos had saved him just as he had saved you, right?! 

You shoved off the bed and stumbled to your feet, hand clutching your side as you crossed the room. The large door was slightly ajar, so you peeked out, getting an idea of what lay beyond. With the coast clear, you held your breath as you pulled the door open. To your surprise, and despite the thick steel, it didn’t squeal or groan in protest. 

You darted down the hall to your right, keeping to the shadows as you frantically searched for your godly uncle, for a way out. With every step you took, fear that you would get caught bubbled in your gut. Every door was locked. Numerous hallways were dead ends. Several of them even looped around to where you started. To say you were frustrated would have been an understatement, but you weren’t about to give up. You couldn’t. 

After pulling in a series of shuddering breaths, you ventured into the center of the ship. You didn’t like how the temperature dipped or the shiver that ricocheted down your spine. Something was wrong. Only problem was, you didn’t know  _ what _ . Until it was too late. 

“I see you are feeling better, little one.” 

_ Shit. _

Thanos was seated in the middle of the room on a large throne carved from meteorite. He was still wearing the gauntlet, fingers flexing, power humming. 

“Come,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Have a seat.”

“I’d rather not,” you bit out. 

With a sigh, Thanos harnessed the power of the blue stone and pulled you across the room. “I said, have a seat.”

You dropped onto the series of steps leading up to Thanos’ chair and cringed at the pain that surged through you. “Could’a said please.” You hadn’t expected him to laugh.

“You are just like her,” he commented, looking down at you with… wait, was that admiration?

“I’m  _ nothing _ like her. If anything, you’re exactly like her, fucking crazy.” 

Confusion settled deep in your bones. You had been trying to harness your power, to funnel your rage and mourning at the giant before you, but it wasn’t working. You couldn’t even get it to spark, let alone burn like fire and brimstone.

Thanos glared at you, his jaw tight and ticking. “The planets are  _ dying _ , daughter. What I am going to do, what I  _ have _ done, is mercy.”

The word daughter made the back of your neck prickle. You couldn’t be the daughter of this… this  _ monster _ , could you? 

“Mercy?” you shot back with a cold laugh. “Jesus, I think you’re crazier than Hela.”

“Speaking of Hela,” Thanos changed the subject, voice dropping down to cool, collected. “How is she?”

With a shrug, you answered. “Dead. Though, I’m sure she sends her regards.” You cleared your throat and tried activating your powers again. Nothing. Again.

“Something wrong, little one?” Thanos asked, a knowing tone to his voice.

“What did you do to me?” you gasped, the overwhelming sense of loss cascading over your body like cold water. 

After standing, he descended the stairs and hunkered down in front of you. Thick fingers reached out and grabbed an amulet you hadn’t noticed before. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

You went to pluck it from his fingers, but sparks of magenta electrocuted you. “Son of a…”

“It is something Ebony Maw crafted, special, just for you. It is quite lovely. Your mother would have loved it.” He released it with a sigh.

The amulet slapped against your sternum and it made you jump. Tears of resentment filled your eyes as you glared at him. “You’re just scared that I’ll be able to stop you.”

“Perhaps,” Thanos hummed, amused. “Perhaps I want to give my daughter a front row seat.” He stood, gripping your arm tight, hauling you up until you were looking him in the eyes.

“Where are you taking me?” you snapped, rage boiling in your gut. 

His face was in yours, breath hot on your skin. “Knowhere.” 


	13. Chapter 13

Bucky was pacing back and forth, hands curling and uncurling at his sides, molars grinding, mind racing. “I’m gonna fuckin’ rip his spine out through his mouth.”

Steve chuckled, he couldn’t help it. “We have to find him first.”

“Well, if the only ones with brains hadn’t left…”

“Tony and Bruce needed to find out more about these Infinity Stones, and to do that, they needed to see -”

“Strange,” Bucky finished for his friend. “Yeah, I know. I just… fuck, I hate this feeling.”

“Like there’s not a goddamn thing you can do?” Steve asked with a sigh. “Yeah, I uh, I know the feeling.”

Bucky scraped a hand over his face. “A’course you do. I’m… I’m sorry, man.”

“Don’t be,” Steve assured his friend.

At that moment, Vision burst through the window and slid across the floor, landing at Steve and Bucky’s feet. Both men look around wildly, searching for the trespassers, but there was nobody there. Wanda was coasting across the floor on her knees, hands going to the gaping, sparking wound in Vision’s chest.

“Get up,” she begged him, tears streaming down her face.

“Wanda, what happened?” Steve asked as he dropped down to his knees.

“We were attacked,” she answered, chin quivering, hands pulling at Vision’s shoulders.

Bucky bent down and helped lift Vision. “By who? We’re in the compound for fuck sake.”

The alarms went off, bright, pulsing lights, shrill sirens. “Gotta tell Stark about that,” Bucky snorted with a roll of his eyes.

Suddenly on his feet, Steve twisted and deftly caught a staff that was launched inside, much to the surprise of the alien that had thrown it. Proxima snarled before racing toward the small group. Nobody had ever caught her weapon like that. It pissed her off. Just as she was about to breach the compound, Sam flew through the air and kicked her, sending her flying through the air, sliding on the grass.

“Stay with Vis,” Steve ordered Bucky and Wanda. He jumped out of the window, throwing the intercepted staff to Nat, who was running through the grass.

“On your six,” Sam announced, weapons firing at Corvus, the other alien that had infiltrated the compound.

Nat, staff in hand, slid on her knees in the wet grass and plunged the weapon deep into Corvus’ side after narrowly avoiding his punch. Proxima, seeing that her companion has been wounded, snarled, rushed to his aid. Steve leapt forward, somersaulted in the grass, and scooped up Corvus’ dropped weapon, stopping Proxima in her tracks. She launched herself at Steve, snarling as they fought. Natasha was there, escrima sticks in hand, joining in right before Sam flew through, yet again, launching Proxima through the air with his feet.

As he landed, Sam drew both of his submachine pistols. Steve and Nat towered over the aliens as Proxima scuttled to Clovus.

“Get up,” she commanded him.

He was losing too much blood. “I can’t.”

“We don't wanna kill you. But we will,” Nat said coolly.

Proxima glared up at the redhead. You'll never get the chance again.” In a flash of blue, the two aliens were beamed up to a ship that looked all too familiar, along with the weapon Steve had been holding.

The team rushed over to Vision, who was resting on a chair. Bucky was crouched down and looking at the wound in Vision’s chest while Wanda held Vision’s hand, tears drying on her face.

“Can you stand?” Steve asked, voice tight, _pissed off_.

Bucky hooked an arm around Visions waist as he helped him out of the chair. “He can now.”

Vision, his face shimmering as electricity pulsed through him, distorting his voice. “Thank you, Sergeant.”

“Come on. Let’s get you to the jet.” Steve directed.

“The jet?” Bucky inquired. “Where are we going?”

“Wakanda,” was Steve’s clipped answer.

Powerless and afraid, you had had no choice but to stand there and watch as Thanos lay waste to Knowhere, burning it and its inhabitants to ash, even after he got what he wanted; the Reality Stone. Moments after the red stone was nestled tightly in the gauntlet, Thanos harnessed its power and made it appear as if nothing had happened. Rather than filled with towers of fire and filled with smoke and ash, Knowhere appeared to be uninhabited, abandoned.

You had begged him not to do it, whatever was going to happen next, but he wouldn’t hear it. He stole your voice and forced you to stand off to the side in a flash of blue and purple.

Peter had a small blaster gun held up, aimed at Thanos. “I told you to go right.”

“Now?” she scoffed, tears in her eyes. “Really?”

“You let her go,” Peter screamed at Thanos.

“Ah, the boyfriend,” Thanos noted, his tone dismissive.

“I like to think of myself more as a Titan-killing long-term booty call. Let her go.”

Gamora was crying, heart pounding painfully in her chest. “Peter…”

“Or I'm gonna blow that nutsack of a chin right off your face!”

“Not him.”

The anguish that washed over you would have driven you to your knees if the stone’s power hadn’t been holding you upright. You were choking on it, the thick, sickly smell of it.

The gun in Peter’s hand shook as agony washed over him, but he didn’t pull the trigger.

“You promised! You promised,” she choked out.

Thanos hummed in disappointment. “Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him.” He turned his gaze to Peter. “She's asked, hasn't she? Do it. Do _it_ ,” he hollered, shoving Gamora closer to Peter, to the gun that was wavering in her boyfriend’s grip.

Peter’s face crumbled. “I told you to go right.”

“I love you, more than anything.”

“I love you, too.” Peter screwed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. Bubbles appeared out of the tip, and when Gamora didn’t fall to the ground, dead, Peter let out the air he was holding in a shuddering rush.

“I like you,” Thanos commented, genuine sincerity coating his words.

In a flash of purple, you, Thanos, and Gamora were transported out of Knowhere, and onto his ship.

Without the stones holding you upright, your knees hit the floor as you cried. “You heartless _bastard_.”

Thanos released Gamora with a sneer. “I’m doing what needs to be done, little one. I’m doing what no one else in all the realms has the stomach to do.”

Gamora stumbled over to you and helped you up. “Thanos, what have you done?” She refused to call him father, not after _everything_ else.

“I am finishing the job I started,” he answered, voice _booming_ through the large room. “I am finishing the job _you_ abandoned.”

“And who is she?” Her arm was around your quaking shoulders.

God, you hated how weak you felt. That display of… _power_ on Knowhere had made your stomach twist and churn and turn inside out. You wanted to rip him apart from the inside out, to feel his hot blood between your fingers, to snuff out the light in his eyes. You wanted him dead in the worst possible way, and you wanted him to _suffer_.

You told Gamora your name. “Daughter of Hela, the goddess of Death, and Thanos.”

“That… that’s not possible. You’d have to be -”

“Three thousand years old?” you supplied weekly. “Yeah. That’s me.”

“Enough,” Thanos commanded. “Tell me where the Soul Stone is, daughter.”

Gamora rolled her eyes. “I'm not your daughter. Everything I hate about myself you taught me.”

Thanos stepped closer, his hulking frame making you wince. “And in doing so, made you the fiercest woman in the galaxy. That's why I trusted you to find the Soul Stone.”

She glared up at Thanos. “I'm sorry I disappointed you.”

You could feel it deep in the marrow of your bones. She was lying about not finding the Soul Stone.

“I am disappointed. But not because you didn't find it.” Thanos leaned down so that he could look straight in Gamora’s eyes. “But because you did. And you lied.”

Thanos strode out of the room, you and Gamora close behind, her arm still around your shoulders. He turned down a hallway and made his way to a large solid door that slid open as he approached. Another door opened, this one made of interlacing metal. Inside it was a robotic woman, suspended in mid-air, various parts of her body dismembered, components stretched apart, the air tearing in and out of her. She was in _extreme_ pain and it made your blood run cold.

“Nebula,” Gamora gasped, her arm falling away so she could go to the robotic woman. “Don't do this.”

“Some time ago, your sister snuck aboard this ship to kill me,” Thanos informed Gamora coolly.

“Please,” Gamora begged. “Please don't do this.”

He went on as if she hadn’t said anything. “And very nearly succeeded. So I brought her here. To talk.” He curled his fist, activating both the Power and Space Stones with a scowl.

The scream that tore out of Nebula drove you to your knees, hands over your ears. Her already extended components stretched further, drawing them taut, to the point they were going to snap.

“Stop. Stop it,” Gamora pleaded, her hands on the gauntlet, trying to pull it down. “I swear to you on my life. I never found the Soul Stone.”

Nebula’s screams died, her components going back to their original state as Thanos signaled to one of the guards.

“Accessing memory files.” It was Nebeula’s voice, but it wasn’t coming out of her mouth. A staticy hologram of Gamora’s face flickered to life out of Nebula’s left eye.

_“You know what he’s about to do,” Nebula sighed. He's finally ready, and he's going for the stones. All of them.”_

_“He can never get them all,” Gamora argued._

_“He will!”_

_“He can’t, Nebula. Because I found the map to the Soul Stone and I burnt it to ash. I_ ** _burnt_** _it.”_

The memory faded away and Gamora’s heart was beating wildly against her ribs. One word bounced violently around your brain. _Vormir._ You wanted to give it life, to roll the syllables around on your tongue, but the intense look Gamora shot you, mixed with your _deep_ hatred for Thanos, convinced you otherwise.

“You’re strong,” Thanos noted. “Me. You're strong. Me. You're generous. Me. But I never taught you to lie. That's why you're so bad at it. Where is the Soul Stone?”

He raised the gauntlet once again, right next to Gamora’s face. Even though Nebula looked utterly horrified, you didn’t miss the slight shake of her head to encourage Gamora to remain silent, but when Gamora didn’t answer, Thanos clenched the gauntlet.

Nebula screamed again, shrill, ear-piercing, and Gamora couldn’t handle it.

“Vormir,” she confessed through clenched teeth.

With a satisfied smirk, Thanos unclenched his hand. Gamora moved toward Nebula as her components moved back into into their original disassembled place.

“The Stone is on Vormir.”

“Show me.”

Thanos left you on the ship, which surprised the hell out of you. Not that you were complaining, not after what you witnessed him do on Knowhere. You waited for a full sixty minutes before running out of the room you had woken up in.

When you got to the room where Nebula was, another surprise met you; the door was open and Nebula was being put together by a guard. His back was to you, head down, attention completely on the task at hand.

You snuck up behind him and jumped on his back, legs wrapped around his waist, arms locked around his neck. He struggled in your grip, but despite your powers being locked away, you were still the descendent of a god. You were simply too strong for him.

When he was dead, you blew out a shuddering breath and went to Nebula. “How do I get you down?”

“There is a panel,” she answered, eyes travelling over your left shoulder.

You scanned the panel for the correct button, finding it in the bottom left corner. Cheering internally, you pressed it with your thumb and watched over your shoulder as Nebula was reintroduced to gravity. Standing, she straightened her dislocated arm, and dragged her still-dislocated foot behind her as she made her way to you, to the panel.

“Thank you,” she murmured. After punching in a code, she placed a call. “Mantis, listen very carefully. I need you to meet me on Titan.”

“I have to get to Earth,” you informed her once the call was complete. When she looked confused, you clarified, “I believe you call it Terra.”

“I will get you a ship.”


	14. Chapter 14

Vision was being supported by Bucky as they walked into Shuri’s lab. 

“No, we have to destroy it. I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps… Its molecular integrity could fail.”

Wanda was shaking her head. “And you, with it. We're not having this conversation.”

They had ‘not’ been having the conversation for the last couple of hours and it was starting to drive everyone else crazy. 

“Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it,” Vision insisted as Bucky set him into a chair.

“That's too high a price,” Wanda sighed, tears in her eyes, dropping between Vision’s thighs.

Vision took her face gently in his hands. “Only you have the power to pay it.”

With a roll of her eyes, Wanda walked away.

“Thanos threatens half the Universe,” he went on. “One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him.”

Steve, eyes downcast, sighed. “But it should.” He propped his hands on his hips and looked at Vision. “We don’t trade lives.”

Wincing, Vision pushed out of his seat and walked slowly toward Steve. “Captain, seventy years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?”

Bruce, who they had picked up after Ebony Maw attacked the institute where Doctor Strange had been, had something important to say. “Because you might have a choice. Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another.”

“You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?” Wanda gasped. 

“I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts.”

“Can we do that?” Natasha asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. 

“No, but I can,” Shuri announced as she descended the stairs. “Also, there is an emergency transmission for you, Sergeant.”

Bucky spun on his heel to face the princess. “Me? Who is it?”

Shuri tossed him a bracelet of black Vibranium formed into beads. “Why don’t you answer the call and find out?”

Swallowing around the sudden knot in his throat, Bucky slipped the bracelet on and pressed the bead that was shimmering blue. He turned his hand over at the tickling sensation his palm and just about had a heart attack. A perfect, albeit blue and small, replica of the woman he loved stood in his hand. 

Wanda gasped the loudest, hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes at the sight of her best friend.

“Bucky?! Oh, gods, it is so good to see you,” she cried. 

Her name got caught in his throat. “Are you okay? Where are you?” he asked, voice thick. 

“Yeah, I uh, I’m fine. I’m actually about five minutes out,” she informed him. 

Bucky looked over at Shuri. “Out from where?”

“Wakanda,” she answered, wearing a wide smile. “I’m almost there.”

Without a second thought, Bucky ran at full speed out of the lab. He was outside, on the tarmac within fifteen seconds. The remaining four minutes and forty five seconds were absolute hell. 

Sure, he hadn’t seen her for three months, but during that time, he knew exactly where she was. She was safe on Asgard, surrounded by more gods than he knew existed. Then the planet exploded, the vessel she had escaped on had been boarded, she had been attacked and taken, and then the vessel had been destroyed. He hadn’t wanted to entertain the thought that something  _ bad _ had happened to her, but the niggling thought was there, in the back of his mind, entertaining  _ all  _ sorts of ideas. 

When the ship landed on the tarmac, Bucky thought his stomach was going to jump out of his mouth. His whole body was buzzing with anxiety and the only thing that would calm it was her. 

The ramp was lowering down and she was running down it, jumping off before it touched the ground. She launched herself into his arms and cried in relief, the sobs shaking her. 

“I thought I’d never see -”

Bucky was kissing her,  _ fiercely _ , as if it had been years rather than months since their last interaction. Hands in her hair, on the small of her back, not an inch between them, clinging to her as if he were afraid to let her go. 

“I know, baby,” he sighed against her lips. 

She looked up at him, a multitude of emotions swimming in her eyes. “Is everyone else inside?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said, tucking some hair behind your ear. “They’re all anxious to see you. Especially -“

“Wanda,” she said at the same time. 

Grabbing her hand, Bucky led her inside. 

Once inside Shuri’s lab, Wanda was the first one to welcome you. She barreled into you and sobbed. 

“I… I thought… Em, I couldn’t feel you.” Her voice was small, broken, nothing like the woman you had seen before leaving for Asgard. 

You kissed her hair and squeezed her. “I’m alright,” you assured her. “I’m right here.”

“In fact,” she hummed sadly, pulling back. “I still can’t feel you.” Red swirled in her eyes as she tried to get inside of your brain, grunting in frustration when she ran into a mystical brick wall.

“I think it’s got something to do with this,” you noted, pointing to the amulet around your neck. 

Shuri came over and reached for it, hissing as it shocked her in a flash of magenta. “Whatever it is, it is strong. It is binding your powers, I assume?”

You rolled your eyes in frustration and held out your hands. With your teeth grinding, you  _ tried _ to harness your powers, choking on a sob when  _ nothing _ happened. 

The princess’ lips pulled into a tight line. “Get on the table. I’ll take care of you before I start with Vision.”

“Wait, what happened with Vis?” you asked, panicked. 

Wanda told you about the attack on the compound as you sat on the table. “They were going after the stone.”

“It’s Thanos,” you ground out, anger simmering in your gut. 

Bruce pushed his glasses up onto his head. “What do you know about Thanos?”

“Besides the fact that he’s going to wipe out half the population with a snap of fingers and he gave me this  _ lovely _ accessory because he’s too scared to deal with me?” you bit out, cringing at the flash of magenta on your skin. “Apparently, he’s also my dad.”

The room went silent and everyone was staring at you, eyes wide, mouths open. 

“He… he’s your dad?” Wanda sounded meek, scared, curious. 

“That’s what they tell me.” Another flash of magenta as the tools continued to work at Shuri’s urging. 

Steve scraped a hand over his face, Bucky’s hands were propped on his hips, Bruce was pinching the bridge of his nose, and Vision was looking at you as if you were going to jump across the room and attack him. 

“Guys, it’s still me. I haven’t changed. I’m an Avenger,” you assured them, heart in your throat. 

“We know that, doll,” Bucky said. “It’s just…”

When his voice trailed off, tears filled your eyes. “Just  _ what _ , Buck? Because I’m his blood, all’a sudden -”

“No. God, no,” Bucky gasped, gripping your hand. “It’s a shock. That’s all.”

“You think you’re shocked?” you scoffed. “First I find out that Hela, the goddess of Death herself, is my mother.  _ Then _ she tried to convince me to join her as she slaughtered my people  _ minutes _ after Odin died. Oh, the destruction of Asgard? That was  _ me _ . I had to release a fucking demon in order to get away.” 

“We saw,” Wanda lamented. “Tony hacked into a satellite.”

Your chin was quivering as the memories flooded your mind. “So you saw what happened next?”

Bucky’s hand was still in yours, thumb sweeping over your pulse point. “Sort of. It was all in infrared. Thor, was he, uh, did he make it out.” 

With tears in your eyes, you looked at Bucky. “Thor was on the ship when the bastard blew it up. He’s gone.” 

Steve’s face fell and he shook his head. 

“Ebony Maw,” you continued with a shudder. “He was talking about how we had just had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan, that it was our salvation. Squid-looking asshole drank the fucking kool-aid.” 

“Squid-looking?” Bruce inquired, stepping forward. “White eyes, no nose?”

You hissed at the surge of power against your chest, peering at Bruce over Shuri’s shoulder. “Yeah, why?”

“He’s the one that led the attack when we were talking with Strange, and now he’s got Strange and the Time Stone.”

It was at that moment in time you noticed someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Tony?”

“He and the kid went after Strange,” Bruce informed you.

“Wait,  _ Parker’s _ involved in this now? Jesus, he’s just a kid. We gotta do something.” 

Shuri gave a satisfied smirk as the amulet slipped off your neck. “And now, you can.”

White-hot power  _ blazed _ through you, alighting your molecules, sizzling beneath your skin, electrifying the air around you, and God it felt good. 

“What’s our first step?” You gave the princess a thankful smile and shoved off of the table, hands flexing at your sides,  _ itching _ to kill Thanos. 

“First thing’s first,” Vision grunted as he stood. “We have to destroy the Mind Stone.” 


	15. Chapter 15

You were standing on the front line, Bucky to your left, Steve to your right, and every soldier in Wakanda next to, and behind you. It was unsettling, hearing the Wakandan battle cries as they prepared for the oncoming slaughter. One way or another, a lot of people were going to die. 

The air was thick with humidity, sweet with the scent of tall grass, acrid with fear. The people of Wakanda may have been warriors and the men by your sides may have been super soldiers, but the sight of  _ thousands _ of bloodthirsty Outriders killing themselves as they partially succeeded in breaking through the barrier was definitely frightening to watch. 

The plan was simple; give Shuri as much time as possible to get the Mind Stone out of Vision’s head and have Wanda destroy it. You just hoped you could keep Thanos’ army at bay long enough. 

“Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us, there's nothing between them and Vision,” Bruce pointed out. 

“Then we better keep ‘em in front of us,” Steve said grimly. 

Okoye, the general of the Dora Milaje and the head of Wakanda's armed forces and intel, asked her king, “How do we do that?”

“We open the barrier,” he answered flatly, raising his hand up to speak into the comm on the vibranium bracelet. “On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen.”

Bucky grabbed your hand and squeezed. “If we make it out of this -”

“We’re making it out, Barnes,” you playfully corrected him. “I don’t want to hear any words like if.”

“Alright,” he chuckled ruefully. “ _ When _ we make it out, we’re taking a long vacation. Just you and me.”

“I like the sound of that.” You pushed up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

The shields on Steve’s wrists flared out as T’Challa shouted a command in his native tongue. He walked out in front of the army, glared at the enemies that were threatening his land and his people, and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Wakanda Forever,” he shouted. The Black Panther helmet materialized over his head as he charged the barrier. 

You tore off, following the king, a scream tearing out of you, electricity dancing along your skin. Steve easily caught up to T’challa just as the command was given for the gate to be opened. Bucky was close behind you, the sound of his gun discharging echoing in your ears. The snarling and snapping Outriders surged forward, hellbent on killing anything and everything in their path. You watched with a grin as Steve and T’Challa literally leapt into the battle, a sting of jealousy burning you as they were the first ones to fight. 

It wasn’t long before you were ripping into the Outriders like their thick skin was made of paper, dark blood pouring out of the wounds, creating giant pools at your feet. Blasts of green erupted from your fingers, slithering out, wrapping around the creatures, and ripping them apart. You ripped some of them in half, made their small brains implode inside their heads, tore off their arms and shoved them up -

“How much longer, Shuri?” T’Challa demanded. 

“We’ve barely begun, brother.” She sounded slightly panicked. 

“You might want to pick up the pace,” he quickly informed her. 

Even being the child of a goddess, you were growing weary. The Outriders’ numbers were immense and they were relentless. You caught sight of Bucky going down, fighting off an Outrider whose fangs were too close for comfort. Steve and T’Challa were fighting side-by-side, blood and mud marring their skin and suits. Even Bruce, inside of the Hulkbuster, was struggling. Everybody was doing the best they could, but it wasn’t enough. 

“There’s too many of them,” Bruce shouted, frustration coating his words. 

You had just been knocked down, the air rushing out of you in a pained  _ oof _ when a large beam of rainbow-hued light that looked an awfully lot like the bifrost landed in the middle of the field. A giant axe flew out of the borderline-blinding and thrumming beam. It was wreathed with lightning and tore through the creatures, freeing you, Bucky, Steve, T’Challa, and Bruce before circling back. The axe landed in a large hand as the beam cut out, revealing a raccoon, a tree, and a man you thought had died. 

With your heart in your throat, Thor screamed, “Bring me Thanos!” Lightning gathered around him, crackling in the air, filling it with white-hot electricity until he launched himself into the air, landing in the densest concentration of Outriders, creating a crater where they had stood. 

You pushed up from the ground and chased after your uncle, taking down a wave of Outriders with an elaborate flick of your wrist. You were just about there when a gigantic chained hammer whistled through the air, narrowly missing the top of your head. Going to Thor then was out of the question, so you focused your energy on the creature in front of you. 

A curse heaved its way out of you when there was a deep,  _ deep _ rumbling in the ground beneath you, reminding you of the havoc you released on Asgard. Down the battlefield and through the trees, whatever was coming captured mostly everyone’s attention. As it reached the edge of the trees, your stomach dropped. Threshers, sets of massive, motorized spiked wheels, intended for shredding everything in their path, and they were headed your way. 

“Fall back,” T’Challa commanded. “Fall back now!”

While you struggled to fight off the wielder of the chained hammer, one of the threshers separated into individual wheels and started veering all over the battlefield. 

“Focus that fire on the left flank, Sam,” Rhodey instructed Sam. Even as they worked together to crack the thresher, Sam and Rodey couldn’t find a weak spot. 

You dove out of the way as one of the thrashers barrelled toward you, and that was when you felt it; Wanda was on the field. Sparking with rage and revenge, she wasn’t hard to find. Crimson curled around a thrasher and lifted it from the ground, ripped it apart, and scattered it amidst the mobs of Outriders. 

“That’s my girl,” you muttered proudly. 

You felt more than saw Vision as he burst through the window and plummeted to the ground below. 

“Guys, we got a Vision situation,” you called out as you rushed toward Wanda. As strong as she was, she still needed aid. 

“Somebody get to Vision,” Steve commanded. 

You barely registered Bruce’s confirmation as an Outrider slammed into you. You went flying, landing on your ass three hundred yards to the west. The Outrider raced toward you, jaws snapping, dark spit flying off its teeth, earth soaring through the air. 

“Come on,” you muttered, using your rage as fuel. Emerald enveloped your hands, sparking, licking your skin. “Come on!” 

The Outrider was close enough that you could smell its putrid breath when you unleashed hell. Flames shot out from your fingers like lava. He screamed as it touched him, burning through his thick skin, destroying him. 

Bruce’s voice erupted in your ear. “Guys! Vision needs backup now!” 

From across the battlefield, you watched as Wanda launched one of Thanos’ children into the air, right into the path of a thrasher. 

_ Wanda, we gotta help Vis. _

Her head whipped around as she searched for you. 

_ On my way _ . 

As Wanda propelled herself through the air with her powers, you ran into the field of trees, searching for Vision. Thirty seconds later, you found him, along with Steve, both looking like they had been through hell. 

“Are you okay?” Wanda gasped as she ran past. 

Vision flinched and shuddered as pain rocketed through him. 

“What? What is it?” 

He looked deep into Wanda’s eyes. “He’s here.”

You whirled around, searching for Thanos as the wind picked up. It was… strange, eerie, cold and hot at the same time as unbridled fear bubbled in your chest. “What the hell?”

“Everyone, on my position. We have incoming,” Steve announced into the comm. 

Clouds the color of ocean water and ink swirled around in the air on the path in front of you. Thanos menacingly stepped through the portal and it was as if your heart stopped beating. The power rolling off of him was palpable. You wanted to reach out and touch it, but your hands were shaking too bad. 

“Cap, that’s him,” you confirmed tremulously. 

Steve didn’t waste any time. “Eyes up. Stay sharp.”

While everyone else went on the defense, you spun around and grabbed Vision. “We gotta get him outta here, Wan!” 

Vision shook his head and pulled away from you. “It’s time.”

Bruce reached Thanos first, lunging toward the Titan fist first, but Thanos used the Space Stone on him, rendering him immaterial until the machine was half-buried in the stone on the cliff behind him, freezing Bruce in place. 

“No,” Wanda scoffed, tears filling her eyes. 

“We’re not letting him kill you, Vis,” you snapped. 

Steve was sent flying by a flash of purple before he even got the chance to strike a single blow. 

T’Challa, armor fully charged kinetically, leapt high, his claws extended. Thanos grabbed T’Challa by the throat with ease and punched the king to the ground. His armor discharged violently in a flash of violet, shaking the ground below your feet. 

“You can’t stop him,” he told you sadly. “But we can, Wanda. Look at me. You have the power to destroy the stone.” 

Sam swept through the air, firing both of his pistols, but he was brought to the ground when his wings became rubbery and unable to sustain flight. 

No matter how much of a fight everyone put up, Thanos was getting closer. You uprooted several large trees and launched them at him. In a flash of blue, they dissolved into sawdust. 

“Don’t,” she begged Vision. 

With her hand in his, he stroked her palm with his thumb. “You must do it. Wanda, please. We. Are. Out of time.” 

“I can’t.” 

Screaming, Bucky ran into the melee, guns firing. Thanos punched him away, sending him into the bushes. 

Okoye was struck down after her assassination attempt failed, and Natasha was bound to the ground in a flurry of dirt and rocks.

“Yes, you can. You can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies.”

“It's not fair,” Wanda whimpered.

“It shouldn't be you, but it is. It's all right. You could never hurt me. I just... feel you.”

At the last possible second, Steve slid under one of Thanos’ arms and came up swinging, landing punch after punch in Thanos’ gut and chin, though it did little to phase the Titan Steve grabbed the gauntlet, keeping Thanos’ fingers unclenched, preventing him from harnessing any of the Stone’s powers. As Steve screamed with the effort, astonishment flashed across Thanos’ features before he slammed his fist into Steve’s head, rendering him unconscious. 

Vision was right. Thanos was going to get the Mind Stone and use its power to obliterate half the planet’s population. The only thing you could do at that point was go down fighting. 

“I’ll hold him off as best as I can,” you assured Wanda gently as she raised a trembling hand, crimson swirling in her palm. 

You felt the power burst out of her as it beamed into the Mind Stone. Thanos was striding toward you, nobody in his path but you. With a snarl you unleashed your power straight at his chest. Emerald collided with the violet of the Power Stone, sending sparks flying through the air. 

“Give up, daughter,” Thanos chuckled darkly. 

“Never,” you grunted, feet sliding in the dirt as Thanos pressed forward. 

“You will not win.”

Sweat was rolling down the back of your neck as you strained against Thanos. “I have to try.”

“Why? They are not your family. Look at them. They are weak, undeserving of you and all that you could accomplish.” 

“They don’t deserve to die because you’re on a power trip,” you snapped. 

When your back hit Wanda’s, she grabbed your hand, both to prevent you from falling and for emotional support for the fact that she was killing Vision. Tears streamed down your cheeks as her emotions became your own. Not only was Wanda having an emotional breakdown, she was funneling her power through you. Crimson swirled with emerald, sparking like a livewire, crackling like lightning. You let out a primal scream and shoved hard at Thanos, surprising yourself when his feet slid in the dirt.

Thanos let out a bellowing cry right before a massive bolt of lighting struck him, digging him into the ground and grinding him back. Thor appeared in the sky above him, eyes glowing with power, swooping down like a bird of prey. 

“Wa- Wanda, stop,” you gasped, stumbling forward, heart beating against your ribs. “Stop!” 

The thrumming of her power cut out and the hand in yours disappeared as she knelt before Vision. “I’m sorry,” she cried. “I’m so sorry.” 

“I… it’s… I’m okay,” Vision stammered, stunned and weak. 

Hurtling toward the earth, the god of Thunder raised the axe above his head. You sucked in a rasping breath as he hurled it at Thanos at the exact same time Thanos used every ounce of power of the gauntlet. The axe cut through the beam of power, a rainbow shimmering in the air as it whizzed by you, slamming into Thanos’ chest with a wet  _ thunk _ . 

Thor landed in front of Thanos in a blinding flash of white. He took hold of the back of Thanos’ head and forced the axe deeper into his chest, lightning dancing in his eyes as Thanos cried out in agony, purple blood staining his lips. 

Thanos was weak, gasping at the air his lungs couldn’t contain. “You should have... You…” He drew in a rasping breath, gaining strength as he said, “You should have gone for the head!” He raised the gauntlet, fingers poised to snap. 

“Thanks for the tip, old man,” you snarled, sending a surge of raw, crackling energy at his face. 


	16. Chapter 16

The silence that followed Thanos’ death was deafening. 

The Titan’s body fell to the side when Thor removed the axe embedded in his chest, sneering at the fat beads of purple blood that rolled off. 

With a renewed sense of hope and relief, you surged forward and slammed into Thor, arms around his neck, sobbing as he held you. “I thought you were dead.” 

“I almost was,” he gruffed. A shuddering sigh left him, the tension easing out of his shoulders. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I think so.” You stood back and wiped a hand over your blood-and-dirt streaked face. 

Steve burst out of the bushes, panic etched deep into his features. “Where is he?”

“It’s over, Steve,” you assured him, stepping to the side to show him Thanos’ body. “We won.” 

In the weeks that followed the battle in Wakanda, all of the Infinity Stones - save for the Mind Stone - were destroyed. Shuri tried several times to separate the stone from its host, but… something about a neural transmitter? It was too much scientific jargon and you didn’t understand. 

Shuri ran all kinds of diagnostics on Vision and was able to repair all of the damage he had suffered when he had been attacked at the compound. The Mind Stone, though it had cracked under the immense power of Wanda, was fully operational. The Wakandan princess said she’d keep an eye on things from afar. 

After sending a message to her ship, telling her that Thanos was dead, Nebula returned from Titan with Tony, Stephen Strange, Peter Parker, and the rest of the Guardian crew. Still reeling from the news that Thanos had killed Gamora, Peter and Nebula both wanted to be the ones responsible for Thanos’ death, but Nebula said that if anyone else were to kill him, they were happy it was you. Quill was quick to agree after finding out who you were, said he could relate.

As it turned out, more Asgardians than you had thought possible survived the attack. Other realms took them in, bandaged them up, and kept them safe until they were fit for travel. Once they were on Earth, Thor decided to take some time off, search for a new place to call home. Possibly in Sweden. Or Finland. He hadn’t made up his mind. 

“You will visit?”

You sniffled loudly and nodded. “Of course. You’re the only family I have left.”

Almost immediately after returning to the compound, Pepper and Tony got married. The following week, they announced Pepper was pregnant. 

“See?” he sassed his wife, a hand on the not-even-there bump. “I told you.” 

“You sure did,” she sighed, chuckling as Happy opened bottles of champagne. 

Peter Parker, newly ‘knighted’ member of the Avengers, was complaining about going back to school.

“I’ve been to  _ space _ ,” he chirped, grinning wide,  _ literally _ bouncing on the balls of his feet. “School is going to be so boring now.” 

“Tony didn’t drop out of school, and he’s a frigging genius.” With lightning flickering in your eyes, you gave the teenager a wink and leaned in. “You still gotta stay in school, kid.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he gasped. 

Clint officially resigned, hung up his bow and arrow to spend the rest of his life with Laura and their kids. He was  _ finally _ going to be the father he wanted to be. There were baseball games and talent competitions to attend. Besides, Lila had recently taken up an interest in her father’s weapon of choice.

Steve, Sam, Bruce, and Nat continued to go on missions, which came as no surprise. Even though Thanos was dead and his followers retreated, other threats remained. The worlds would always need protecting.

Bucky was sprawled out on the chair, arm tucked behind his head, legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed, peering at you through his lashes, lips quirked in a lazy smile. 

The two of you had been on the private island for almost a week, and the longer you stayed, the less you wanted to return to your duties as an Avenger. You didn’t have a choice in the matter, though. Once the second week was over, you and Bucky would head back to the compound, relaxed and rejuvenated, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect the nine realms. 

You strolled out of the ocean, water running in rivulets down your sun-kissed skin, and sat down next to Bucky. With a devilish smirk, you bent over and kissed him. 

“Hey,” he gasped, muscles jumping as the cool water dripped onto his stomach. “That’s cold.”

“Oh, you poor baby,” you teased right as more water landed on his chest. “You should come in the water. It’s really nice.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” Bucky suggested, pushing up to capture your lips in his, vibranium fingers tangling in your wet hair. 

You sighed into the kiss and moved to straddle his thighs. “You said that yesterday.”

Bucky’s chuckle rumbled through his chest. “And I’ll say it again,” he purred, hands squeezing your hips, ass, and ribs. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Lust raced through you and settled between your legs. “Maybe tomorrow,” you rasped in agreement. 


End file.
